Spartan Interact Club holds fundraiser to raise money for the recovery effort in Haiti.
Artwork br Rebecca Holt
January 12, 2010. This day began as any other in Haiti, but ended with disaster. Residents went from sitting in offices and in their homes to running for their lives as the deadliest earthquake in over 200 years struck their country. The initial 7.0 magnitude quake was later followed by twelve aftershocks greater than magnitude 5.0. The earthquake itself was disastrous, but it’s the aftermath that has the whole world mourning for Haiti.
Structures of all kinds were damaged or collapsed altogether, and 150,000 were reported killed in the disaster. Homes were destroyed, and families were displaced with nowhere to run. Rescue teams from all over the world are surrendering their time and resources to Haiti in a recovery effort, and Thomas Jefferson’s Interact Club was one of many organizations to immediately begin raising money for the effort.
TJ’s Interact organization is run through the Denver Tech Center Rotary Club (www.dtcrotary.org). “Rotary is an international organization. Each city has a rotary, some even have several,” said TJ Interact Sponsor and CTE Resource Specialist Danny Showers. “Each of them has the option of having an interact club. That’s what we are, for the Denver Tech Center Rotary.”
“A DTC Rotary representative comes to TJ every Monday to help align their efforts with us,” said Showers. “The two work together as a team.”
The primary focus of the Rotary Organization is international projects and assistance, and when the disaster in Haiti occurred the club stepped right in. “The heads of Rotary International felt a need to help, so they proposed the plan to all the Rotaries and then further to the interact clubs,” said Showers. “TJ Interact immediately began fundraising the day after the earthquake in Haiti.”
Since January, the Interact club has been holding the “Pennies for Haiti” fundraiser. “We’ll take anything from pennies to dollar bills,” said Showers.
The fundraiser is still taking place, with representatives out in the main hall during the last 20 minutes of lunch collecting change. “It was a great time to hold the fundraiser. Even if it’s a few pennies kids had left over from lunch, it all adds up in the end,” said TJ Interact President Daniella Cardona.
The Pennies for Haiti fundraiser is not the only way TJ Interact got involved in the recovery effort. “Our club put together a ‘Shelter Box’, which contains all of the essentials needed to survive out there right now, such as tents, blankets, and first aid kits,” said Showers. “Each box is worth one-thousand dollars, and ours was one of the boxes selected to be sent out to Haiti.” If you want to learn more about the Shelter Box organization, visit www.shelterbox.org.
The sponsoring DTC Rotary matches everything earned by the TJ Interact club. “If we raise $500, they immediately match it, so we have a total of $1000 raised for our efforts that can go to Haiti,” said Showers.
The Pennies for Haiti fundraiser is still taking place, and the club believes that every little bit helps. If you have some spare change to donate, stop by the Interact table in the main hall during lunch and give your assistance to the Haiti recovery effort.
