The devastation and loss of life from the worst natural disaster in Haiti’s history is prompting a worldwide response of financial and humanitarian aid and a desire from within our own BCD community to be of service. This morning, BCD Middle and Upper School students came together for a special morning meeting with Laura Piasecki, our new Service Learning Committee Chair, Sarah Pitcher-Hoffman, leader of the Service Learning Club, and School Psychologist John Evans to brainstorm ways under our new service learning model to help support the relief efforts taking place in Haiti.
The students started the meeting by talking about what they have heard and know about what is happening in Haiti today. Then, John shared with them a conversation he had this morning with Nick Whalen, Maria Whalen’s son and a former BCD student, who has just arrived in Port Au Prince. They then discussed ways individuals and our school community could get involved. Over the weekend, students are being asked to research four organizations: Partners in Health, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, organizations known by John, Maria, and Nick as reputable and truly able to get things done. In the coming days, we will hear back from them on what they have selected as the best way to raise money and how that money will be disbursed.
Berkshire Country Day School has had a unique relationship with Haiti since 2007, when John Evans, Maria Whalen, and Maria’s son Nick started a soccer camp for youths in Port Au Prince, the nation’s capitol. Now, the organization they founded, Konbit Football Ayiti, a 501(c)3 non-profit based here in the Berkshires, has turned its attention to Earthquake Relief, and is directing efforts to provide food, water, and medicine to the organizations that are most intimately involved with the rescue and recovery efforts in Haiti. More information about their efforts can be found at www.Konbitfootballayiti.com.
Stay tuned to MyBCD for updates on what the students have decided.
omg.. so many people have lost and been injured…
1) please help =)
2) go door to door asking to donate $ money …
PS .. ACT FAST TO MACK A CHANGE ….. PLEASE HELP!!
I think one way that we can help raise money is to go out in our neighborhoods and collect money. A lot of people want to help but they do not know how so we can collect from them and send it to the helping companies. Also we can have a community bake sale. Each grade can be responsible for a treat. Another thing we can do is have a contest each grade could come up with a way to raise money and then try it. The grade that raises the most money would earn a prise. We could also could have a talent show or play. We could get money for the tickets and we could have a bake sale and art sale with it.
We could sell tickets to our games and rases. Also we could have a movie night. The other thing we could do is have a family, friends, and neighbors dinner. The students could cook a pasta dinner and serve drinks, salads, and disserts. Gusts would pay for dinner and a table. We could hold it in the gym.
I belive that all of these wuld be fun for the school. It will be a great way to raise money to help Haiti.
the world society for the protection of animals is fundraising to support mobile animal care and relief teams. no one seems to be thinking about all of the domestic and helpless animals. we should give wspa some money
As you read this note, people are dying, suffering, afraid, poor, and hopeless. Just take a minute and imagine; your friends and family are either hurt or dead. Your house has been demolished by the earthquake. Every time your walk down the street, you can smell the terrible scent of dead bodies, lost, in a mountain of torn buildings. These people need help. One, small but important thing I am doing is I am going around my neighborhood, my house and asking my dad, who is in France, to ask anybody he knows to donate money to help rebuild Haiti. If you have any questions, my suggestion is either go to Madame Whalen or Mr. Evans. I hope you will see the great importance in helping the Haitian community rebuild there destroyed homes.
I have been receiving various texts and e-mails all saying something along the lines of, “donate $10 to the people in haiti by sending ‘HAITI’ to…” As much as I want to help the people in Haiti I can’t help but think it’s some sort of scam. What Students need is a way to donate money that they know is reliable. One thing that BCD could do is to simply find a good organization that is helping Haiti and inform students. I’m sure students would be more than happy to donate their own money to the people in Haiti. It doesn’t have to be a lot, maybe just five or ten dollars, it would add up. And if students were also following up on some of their ideas in morning meeting we could also be having bake sales, a talent show, and so on, it would be great! But in this time of urgency I do not hesitate to say that I’m sure students would be willing to donate their own money, and as Mr. Evens said “Speed is key.”
Also, Friday night I was speaking with Claire Pollart about the tragedy in Haiti, and we were thinking of ways the school could help. She informed me that Spee Braun, Caleb Braun’s mother works for Save the Children. I shot Spee an e-mail, about what she thinks the school could do. She quickly replied “It would be great if you could raise funds for the relief and reconstruction work that lies ahead and at the same time raise understanding about the country of Haiti, its history, its relationship to the U.S., its culture, and its challenges with poverty. One of my passions is raising awareness among teenagers about a career as a humanitarian worker. Maybe there could be a fundraising event at which I could share about this as well as about Save the Children’s response in Haiti?” I think that it would be great to have Spee come speak at our school, she could further inspire students, and really inform them about Haiti and its history.
I think that the course of action here is simple. We raise as much money as possible in the shortest amount of time possible. The organizations mentioned at Friday’s morning meeting know exactly how to turn our donations into much needed relief. The key is speed.
People in haiti are dying and sick. everybody should help i think. if people donated even 10 dollers each it could save a life in haiti. We could have a bake sale and we could sell old toys and books and send the the money to haiti.
I would like to donate to Doctors Without Borders. I think that one way to raise money would to be to have a ‘walk for Haiti’. We could publish that we’re doing this, and ask people to donate money, and maybe join us in the walk. We would spread the news, and try to get donors.
Personally I think we should give to Doctors Without Borders. I think we should raise money by doing a talent show. If we do this I think we should charge the people that enter 5 dollers, and the people who come 2 dollers. This would be a nice way to earn money, and a great way to have fun while making money!!!!!! The great thing is, it could be in the gym, because that would be the perfect place to have a talent show. We could have the chairs set up in rows, just like at the concerts, and we could have a person with a bucket (or something that you can put money in) standing at the door, collecting the money. But if you enter the talent show you should probably put your name on a sign up sheet before-hand saying what your doing, you should then pay whem you get there, the amount we choose. I think having a talent show would be a reasonable idea. I also think that if 10 people enter we make 50$ (but only if we charge the contestents 5 dollers) and even 50$ is a bunch to donate. If we all come together, we could have a talent show, and a great amount of money to give to the people in Haiti!