May 5, 2010
We have had some really wonderful fundraisers done for us the past several months. We hope we have adequately thanked all of those involved! We are so extremely grateful. This post is certainly not meant to exclude anybody who has done great fundraising for us. We hope this post expresses gratitude and gives ideas to others of projects they might like to do at their business or school to help Haiti! *
Since the quake, we have had many, many schools through out Northern Utah join us for a project Nancy Waterfall headed up called “Hope for Haiti: Dig Deep Week”. Highschools, Junior Highs, and Elementaries alike did different things at their school to inspire students, faculty, and parents to “dig deep” and donate. There have been thousands and thousands of dollars donated which we have been able to use for disaster relief.
Kelsey Coy (center) and other students from Davis High
Along these lines, an individual family came forward and decided to go to their school to do a project. It was inspired by a little boy named Israel (Izzy) Russell. Izzy was adopted from Haiti and is seven years old. When he heard about the earthquake, he was very upset. The morning after the quake, Izzy’s mom, Jamie, found a mason jar on the counter with the word “HAITI” written on it. The jar held all of Izzy’s money. He told his parents he was going to fill his jar to help buy things for those suffering in Haiti. A few days later, he came to Jamie and said, “Mom, I think I’m going to need some help filling my jar.” And help she did.
As a family, the Russells organized with their elementary school (Shadow Valley Elementary School in Ogden, Utah) to hold an assembly, a Saturday morning pancake breakfast, and to have a huge jar at the school to raise money. The Russells and their extended friends and family reached out to their entire community with flyers, going door to door, and to local businesses. Max Laforet gave a wonderful speech to the children during an assembly. The pancake breakfast was a much bigger hit than any of us dreamed, and the continued fundraising through out the week helped as well. The “Help Izzy Fill his Jar” project raised over $7,000 for Haitian Roots!
Jamie and Izzy Russell with principal at Shadow Valley Elementary
Shadow Valley Elementary Principal Announces “Izzy’s Jar”
Max Laforet helps children understand life in Haiti and the importance of education.
Priscilla, Maddie, and Charlotte Allred enjoy the breakfast
Another wonderful fundraiser was done in Sacramento California by the Quick Quack Car Wash. We were amazed at the generosity of this business as they donated an entire day of business to us. They held a “free day” on March 23rd. Anybody could get their car washed for free and they were then given a flyer and encouraged to donate to Haitian Roots in lieu of payment for the wash. The event was very successful and they, too, raised thousands of dollars to help ease the suffering caused by the earthquake. We are so grateful!
Lastly, we’d really like to thank the Utah Chamber Artists for their support at their last two concerts. We were able to set up tables to help educate and the audience was encouraged to give generously. An entire page of their program was donated to Haitian Roots. We raised a good deal of money, as well as made some great connections in the Salt Lake Community.
There have been many other fundraisers and private donations as you all have poured forth your generosity and compassion. We sincerely thank you!
*If you have photos or information about a successful fundraiser you held or participated in, we would love to share that on our blog, too. Please email info to shannon@haitianroots.com