Key Club, the American Disaster Relief Club, and Paly and Haiti are collaborating to launch a student-run relief effort for victims of the earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12.
Efforts include bake sales and bracelet fundraisers.
Key Club hopes to raise awareness and monetary aid by collecting donations during lunch periods.
For a donation of $1, students will receive “Hope for Haiti” neoprene bracelets.
“Since we do not know the level of student participation, bracelets will be given to the first 200 donors,” Key Club president Erika Ji said.
The Key Club will distribute the bracelets throughout the next two weeks beginning on Monday, Feb 8 until Feb 19.
“We are donating all of the proceeds to the American Red Cross,” Ji said.
Ji decided to do a bracelet drive after discussion with other Key Club presidents.
“They [The Menlo Atherton High School Key Club] came up with the idea of selling Livestrong-style wristbands, and I thought it would be great if multiple schools in the area all did something similar,” Ji said.
Ji then contacted the American Disaster Relief Club, which was also contributing to relief efforts.
The American Disaster Relief Club collected donations on Club Activity Day, which took place during lunch on Feb. 8.
American Disaster Relief Club Co-President junior Nadav Gavrielov also posted fliers around campus, informing students with information regarding texting donations to the American Red Cross.
The American Disaster Relief Club also had a bake sale outside of Borders book store in Palo Alto and raised a little less than $100 in three hours last Saturday.
“We raised funds for the doctor’s trip to Haiti and raised awareness for Haiti as we hoped,” Gavrielov said. “A lot of people had already donated through other organizations, which was also exciting.”
American Disaster Relief Club Vice President Max Cohen thinks that further action is needed.
“I think that an all-school fundraiser would be very beneficial,” Cohen said.
The Paly and Haiti Club hopes to introduce a series of fundraising efforts at Paly for Haitian victims.
“Our goal is to fundraise about $10,000 to $20,0000 in total,” club President junior Jeremy Laufer said. “I think we can do that.”
Proceeds would be donated to Partners in Health, a nonprofit organization that works to bring modern medical care to countries in need like Haiti.
Laufer stresses the importance of student awareness.
“With awareness comes money, so the more we spread awareness we are going to get more donations,” Laufer said.
The Paly and Haiti club will distribute fliers to inform students on the situation in Haiti and what they can do to help.
The club plans to hold its first bake sale fundraiser at the farmer’s market at 11:00am, Saturday, Feb. 13, on California Ave
The Paly and Haiti club meets every Wednesday in Rm.room 404 and students can join the Facebook group Paly and Haiti.
“We welcome anyone who wants to join, the more input, the better,” Laufer said.