Help kids help in Haiti

Who among us can not be moved by the effort of the kindergarten classes at Eastwood Elementary School in spearheading a drive to build a permanent home for a displaced family in Haiti?

They, like the rest of us, saw the devastation brought to that country by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake last month. Perhaps they could not understand the numbers of people impacted; we adults might have difficulty imagining 3 million people displaced.

But a lesson on homes around the world sparked a discussion of those people displaced in Haiti. And that discussion led to the students volunteering to donate the money from their piggy banks to help.

Teaching students to share is often a primary challenge for kindergarten teachers. But these youngest Eastwood students provided that lesson themselves.

With guidance from their teachers, the students are now engaged in raising funds to build a family a home. The kindergarten classes enlisted the help of the first- and second-grade classes to accomplish their goal.

We commend these students for being willing to help where they can. We encourage parents, grandparents, and neighbors to help them in their quest by hiring an Eastwood student for simple jobs.

And we encourage them to participate in the art show and bake sale the students will host during parent-teacher conferences on March 11.

Their goal is just $2,500. Let's all help them meet that goal to reward this initiative.