When the disasterous earthquake struck in Haiti recently, many people and groups in the Garden Grove-Stanton-Wesminster area swung into action to help alleviate the suffering.
At Pacifica High School in Garden Grove, the students held a two-minute fund-raiser that exceeded all expectations. The campus hoped to raise $2000 in two minutes, but the students and staff easily beat that, putting in $6,400 in 120 seconds.
That amount will more than cover the cost ($5,500) to send a jet-load of antibiotics to the Caribbean island nation.
The Boys and Girls Club of Garden Grove have embarked on a shoe drive that concludes today (Thursday). On Friday, you can still åturn in the shoes at the Family Campus on Chapman Avenue west of Euclid Street until noon.
The organization is looking to collect “gently-used” shoes in all sizes (pairs only). From Garden Grove the shoes will be taken to the Sports Chalet in Huntington Beach to begin their journey to Haiti.
For more information about the drive, call Heidi Levesque at (714) 530-5399 ext. 30 or by e-mail at heidi@bgcgg.org .
Although Hazard Elementary School in the Garden Grove Unified School District serves many underprivileged children, their generosity and compassion trumped economic adversity as young students shattered piggy banks, emptied pockets, and donated Christmas and birthday cash to raise more than $1,200 in five days to benefit relief efforts in Haiti.
Propelled into action by first-grade teacher Mary Givenrod, the youngsters, school employees, and parents rallied through their “Coins for Kindness” campaign to aid the earthquake victims in Haiti left without food, water, and shelter.
All proceeds collected by Hazard School will be directed to the American Red Cross and Theo’s Work, Inc., an Orange County-based non-profit charity dedicated to helping the poor of Haiti. The humanitarian organization operates Hope Village, an orphanage that provides 550 Haitian children with shelter, food, clothing, education, and basic medical care.
Hazard Elementary School is located at 4218 W. Hazard Ave., Santa Ana.
In addition to these efforts, most supermarkets in the area collected donations at checkout stands to be send to the American Red Cross.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Garden Grove shoe drive, spearheaded by Ms. Levesque, has collected more than 3000 pairs of shoes for victims of the earthquake in Haiti. 3000 pairs of shoes simply because this staff member wanted to make a difference beyond the incredible work already being done locally by BGCGG. Brava Ms. Levesque for thinking outside the boundaries of your job description and teaching these kids the value of philanthropy.