Cornelia
Connelly
School students, parents and staff rallied to raise $6,941.78 for Catholic Relief Services assistance in
Haiti - and most of the donations were received within the first 24 hours of the donation drive.
Kitty Callinan, chair of Connelly's Religious Studies Department, called the Connelly Community to action after hearing the news of the devastation from the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in
Haiti. Callinan and Jane DeJovine, a religious studies instructor, went to each classroom to speak to the girls about the catastrophic destruction caused by the earthquake and Callinan recorded a plea that was sent Jan. 14 via phone to each of the school's 260 students. The campus responded in force, and the pair collected checks, bills, even coins during the eight-day mission.
"This is a moral and justice issue. It is our duty to reach out to the most vulnerable among the human family," Callinan pleaded. Students emptied their wallets into collection baskets daily and gave up hard-earned savings in acts of sacrificial giving. They also banned together putting on impromptu bake sales. "These acts of love, care and compassion are truly beautiful examples of our school's charism, and goals of justice, peace, compassion and societal and global awareness," said Callinan.
The school's families more than quadrupled the initial collection from the students and staff, and within 24 hours - by Jan. 15 - Connelly had collected $4,880. The school extended the donation drive to Jan. 22, because Connelly community members continued to give and wanted their contributions to be included in Connelly's donation. The school sent its donation to Catholic Relief Services, CRS, Jan. 22. CRS (at http://crs.org/) converted a Port-au-Prince golf course into relief camp and Connelly's donation will enable the organization to continue to provide food, water, medical supplies, fuel for the hospital, an ambulance, and prayers.
"It is gratifying to me to see that the Connelly community responded so quickly to the desperate needs of the people of
Haiti," said Sr. Francine Gunther, Connelly's Head of School. "There was an immediate outpouring of support. The question was not 'Should we do this?' Instead, our goal was 'Let's see how much we can collect in 24 hours.' "
