Stepping up efforts to help Haiti

Relief efforts for Haitian earthquake victims continue in the Midlands.

SCHOOLS

• Hayward Elementary School in Nebraska City and the Nebraska City Middle School held a change war last month. Hayward raised $2,300.57. The middle school beat the elementary school by just under $20, raising $2,320.05.

• Minne Lusa Elementary School's Do Something Club is selling suckers on Wednesday and Friday afternoons through Feb. 12. Each sucker costs 25 cents, and there is a $1 daily limit.

• At Morton Elementary School in the Millard district, students who are observed by staff this week being kind to others will be rewarded with paper hearts and Tootsie Rolls. The paper hearts will be placed in an I Was Caught Being Kind box. For every heart turned in, the student council will make a donation of 25 cents to the Red Cross. The donations will be matched by student council sponsor Marti Harris.

• Seventh-grade science teachers Dan Murphy and Toni Henry have been teaching their Andersen Middle School students about earthquakes. They asked students to bring in $1 of their own money and to ask their parents if they would match the dollar. The classes talked about what they could give up that would cost $1 (a soft drink, a candy bar, etc.) and about how easy it would be to live without that item for one day. The students have raised more than $700 for the Red Cross. Also at the Millard school, the Builders Club last week kicked off a Pennies for Peace campaign. Funds also will go to the Red Cross.

• The Omaha Public Schools' Columbian Elementary School raised $879.70 through staff donations and a special pajama day for students on Jan. 22. The money is going to the Red Cross.

• Ackerman Elementary School in the Millard district is raising money for Real Hope for Haiti through fundraisers, including a Hats on for Haiti day and a raffle. They are also collecting shoes for Soles 4 Souls.

• Upchurch Elementary School's student council is collecting money and creating a paper chain for the Millard district school. For every $1 a student donates, his or her name will go on a link for the chain. The chain will hang in the school's hallway and the goal is to connect one end of the school to the other.

• Omaha Roncalli High School will hold a Fast Banquet on Ash Wednesday. Students will start the day with a presentation on Haiti and on the difference between First, Second and Third World countries. Each student will draw a number to determine his or her lunch for the day. Drawing First World country means getting a full lunch, Second World is a lunch of rice and vegetables, and Third World is a lunch of rice. The students' $3 lunch money for the day will be donated to help feed people in Haiti.

• Rumsey Station Elementary School in Papillion is holding a penny war through Friday. Donations go to the Salvation Army.

BUSINESSES and ORGANIZATIONS

• TD Ameritrade has made a $50,000 donation to the Red Cross. The company also has agreed to match employee donations up to another $50,000.

• Midwest Laboratories has made a company donation and is matching funds up to $300 per employee to the University of Nebraska Medical Center's Haitian Relief and Outreach Fund.

• Union Pacific Railroad has a disaster-relief matching-gift program. Through April 30, the company will match employee contributions to six organizations helping in Haiti: AmeriCares, Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services, Salvation Army, Save the Children and UNMC's Haitian Relief and Outreach Fund.

• All American National, Bank of the West, First National Bank, Pinnacle Bank, TierOne Bank, Union Bank & Trust Co. and Wells Fargo branches in the Omaha, Lincoln and Council Bluffs area are accepting funds for the Red Cross International Relief Fund. Pender State Bank and Treynor State Bank also are collecting donations at their branches in Nebraska and southwest Iowa. U.S. Bank donated $100,000 to the Red Cross.

• Hy-Vee Inc. donated $50,000 to the Red Cross, launching a monthlong campaign to raise money for Haiti. Starting today, customers at Hy-Vee Supermarkets and Hy-Vee Drugstores will be invited to donate to the company's Help Us Help Haiti campaign.

• All Gordmans stores are offering customers the option to buy a Helping Hand for $1 or more through Feb. 15 to support the Red Cross International Relief Fund.

• Heartland Caribbean Social Organization and eCreamery Gourmet Ice Cream & Gelato, 5001 Underwood Ave., will hold a fundraiser on Feb. 14 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. A tropical ice cream social, silent auction and other events will raise money to be sent to Compassion International.

• Aktion Club, a service organization established by Mosaic and Kiwanis Club of Omaha, is assembling Health Kits for Haiti on Tuesday. The Kiwanis Club donated $150 to purchase items for the project. Members will assemble 30 kits containing a hand towel, washcloth, bar of soap, toothbrush, nail clippers, bandages and a comb. The kits will be distributed through Lutheran World Relief.

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