Jasmine Bramlett
Children Help Raise Money For Haiti
When the 3:15 bell rang, a crowd of students came rushing down the stairs at Lafayette Elementary school towards the gymnasium where three tables were set up for a bake sale. The bake sale, which took place Friday, Jan 28, 2010, was held in hopes to raise a profit to donate to the victims of the earthquake that hit Haiti. The students were a bundle of excitement as they awaited the bake sale. After the bell rang, a large crowd of kindergarteners, first, second, and third graders came rushing down the school’s stairs toward the gymnasium where three tables were set up. The tables included all sorts of goodies including pound cake chocolate covered cupcakes, chocolate chip and sugar cookies, honey buns, brownies, and even bottled water for the children to wash it all down with.
“If anyone wants chocolate chip brownies come and get them. They were made by me,” said Ana P., a fourth grader at Lafayette. “The money is for the people in Haiti.”
Ana was in charge of a large table with mostly brownies, cookies, and honey buns. With plastic gloves covering her hands, she politely asked her customers to create a straight line if they wanted to purchase anything from her table. The children and teachers followed her directions, straightened up, and made a line in preparation to buy some goodies.
As parents poured in to pick up their children, they too stopped at the mini bakery for the day to grab a few cookies and cupcakes for their children as well as for themselves. With children, parents, and teachers, crowding around the small area designated for the sale, there was chaos. The attempt to form straight lines had failed because of the excitement. The students paid 50 cents for cookies, honey buns, and brownies, while cake, cupcakes and bottled water cost $1.
The Friday bake sale was not the first the school had ever seen. According to Ann Rivera, the supervisor of Lafayette’s After School Program, the student council of the school held a bake sale last Friday for Haiti, and their profits amounted to $600.
“The children love it. They get so excited when they see an abundance of desserts around,” Rivera said, “but never the less, they know that the reason for such an event is to help others that are less fortunate than they are.”
Nicole Maury, a staff worker for Lafayette After School Program, supervised the children as they sold the items at their designated tables. She was also in charge of collecting the money and donations from parents and students. Several parents bought more than one item to show their concern for the people in Haiti. Some even offered to pay more then what their purchasing total added up to.
“Keep the change,” said a smiling mother as she handed Maury a $10 bill.
The bake sale lasted an hour. Nearly everything was sold except for a few slices of pound cake and a batch of chocolate chip cookies.
The children all pitched in to help clean up while Maury counted and totaled the profit for the day. As she pulled the last few quarters from her cash box, the children gathered around in amazement to see the large pile of ones, fives, tens, and twenty dollar bills that filled a green crayon box.
“We made $168, which landed the school a grand total of $768 of fund raised money for relief efforts in Haiti,” said Rivera.
Rivera and Afsheen Benab, an employee and assistant teacher at Lafayette Elementary school, were pleased to see that the children in their after school program had put aside their own worries in an effort to raise money for the victims in Haiti.
Kacheve Stafford, a previous employer of Lafayette After School Program, says LAP is always willing to help others in need.
“The children in LAP are really sweet. Even though there were times when I had to raise my voice at them, they were good kids. Their parents teach them the importance of sharing and helping others that need it more than they do,” he said.
Rivera and her staff members are continuing to accept food, clothing, and donations for the victims of Haiti. According to Rivera, parents of the children that attend the school have continued to donate all that they can, and Rivera is always willing to accept donations from others that are willing to give what they can. For more information, contact Ann Rivera by e-mail at anner51@comcast.net.
