On January 12th, I watched with the rest of the world as the tragedy unfolded in Haiti. Many organizations began collecting money, water, food and other essentials. I saw a need that wasn’t being met; for the children who were alone, hurt and scared to have something to hold on to. I decided that I wanted to send stuffed animals to the children in Haiti. I did some research and found the organization Stuffed Animals For Emergencies (SAFE). The director provided me with information and support. She also publicized my drive on the SAFE home page.

I am a sophmore at Ardsley High School in Ardsley, New York. Thanks to the support of my High School principal, my local supermarket and synagogue, I was able to place collection boxes in the Ardsley schools and in my community. I also set up a Facebook group to publicize the drive. The outpouring of support was overwhelming – over 2500 stuffed animals were collected in 10 days!

Meanwhile, a second grade teacher at May Moore School in Deer Park, New York – over an hour away – heard about my drive from SAFE. She and her class happened to be in the middle of their own collection drive. They offered to donate their stuffed animals to my drive. On January 26th, she arrived by school bus and delivered over 2000 stuffed animals to me at Ardsley High School!

Once all of the stuffed animals were sorted, cleaned and counted, there were approximately 4600 appropriate for donation (including the original 400 donated). After researching charitable organizations, I decided that Hope For Haiti, which has been a presence in Haiti since 1997, was the perfect match. On Thursday, February 4th, they begin their trip to the Hope for Haiti headquarters in Naples, Florida. The President of Hope for Haiti, is “happy to send them to Haiti,” and she knows that they “are going to make a lot of children smile.”

The picture I selected is of a box about to be closed and sent!