Chatham Students Donate to Japan

For the second year in a row, students from Chatham have rallied together to donate money for disaster relief efforts by The Red Cross. In 2010, they donated money for earthquake victims in Haiti. In March, it was for those affected by the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent meltdown of a nuclear power plant in Japan.

At Chatham High School, about ten different clubs on campus joined forces with the Red Cross Club to hold a bake sale to raise money. They also sponsored a Faculty Dress Down Day Thursday, where teachers and faculty members at Chatham High could pay $5 to wear jeans to school.

Nicole Avery, the Red Cross Club’s faculty advisor, said the club raised “at least $225 from the Faculty Dress Down Day,” and a total of $1,034, plus more in change.

“The proceeds from the bake sale are impressive because we don’t sell anything over $1. Most items are purchased for 25 cents or 50 cents,” Avery said.

Meanwhile at Lafayette Avenue School, Principal Cheryl Caggiano said that instead of donating all the money raised from their annual Coins for Kids fundraiser for the Community Food Bank, this year they planned to split the money between The Red Cross and the food bank.

“Kids bring in their extra coins and put them into buckets that we have in the classrooms,” Caggiano said. Last year Coins From Kids Who Care raised over $2,000, and Caggiano expects a similar amount this year.

Caggiano said the students at Lafayette donate to the food bank every year, and each year students spend some time working as volunteers at the food bank. “The trip to the food bank is really powerful. It’s important for them to have an awareness that a lot of them get a lot,” Caggiano said. “After that, kids really want to give back, not just give money or drop off clothes. They want to do community service.”

Once every two years, the school has also had a representative from the King Arthur Baking Company come to show the kids how to bake a loaf of bread. Then students get enough materials to make two loaves, one for home and one to donate to the food bank. “I think this year we had close to 100 percent participation,” Caggiano said. “Kids go to each other’s houses and have these huge baking parties, and then they bring the loaf back to school to send to the food bank.”

The parents, teachers and administrators at Lafayette Avenue School work together to find community service projects for the students throughout the year. “There’s even a community service position on the PTO,” Caggiano said. “It’s all a huge collaborative effort.”

The next event planned for students is a Locks of Love fundraiser in May, when 65 students will cut their hair to donate to this nonprofit company that makes hair prosthetics for people under 21 who have lost their hair due to medical conditions or treatments.