Middle schoolers raise money for Haiti earthquake victims

Students at I.S. 89 middle school are well on their way to reaching their goal of raising $1,000 for the relief effort in Haiti. Eighth-graders Anna Bernath and Marina Ouranitsas organized a week-long coin drive that raised $850. “We had a coin drive last year to raise money for the school and we were planning on doing it again this year, but then we decided it would be a great opportunity to raise money for Haiti,” Bernath explained.

The drive coincided with spirit week, and was a competition of sorts among the grades. The seventh-grade students raised the most money and were allowed to decide which charity would get the donation. They voted for the Red Cross.

“The last day [of the drive] was Haiti Day, so we all wore red, white, and blue and we sold bracelets that we made in advisory class,” said Ouranitsas. Including the bracelet sales, the students are now just $100 shy of their fundraising goal. Ouranitsis said they are planning to sell applesauce they made with apples picked on a recent field trip to reach their goal.