On Jan. 12, a devastating 7.0 earthquake toppled the small country of Haiti, but shook the whole world.
The day after the earthquake hit, I sat unaware in my United States history class.
My teacher entered the classroom with a solemn look across his face. The class quieted down, immediately aware that a serious topic was about to be discussed.
My teacher began to inform us of the disaster, and as he brought up pictures from Haiti, the 30 students around me grew very still and quiet. Everyone's faces were completely overcome with sorrow and empathy for the people affected by this tragedy.
Find out what's happening in Danvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Soon enough, the topic of this disaster began to weave through conversations in the halls of San Ramon Valley High School as students began to develop ideas on how to help the devastated people of Haiti.
Since January, students and staff at SRVHS have been putting their efforts together to raise money and spread awareness in a program called "Hope for Haiti."
Within the first week of the disaster, the students set a goal to raise $10,000 for this cause. The social studies classes on campus held a competition, collecting money in small cans for repairs and supplies in Haiti. Overall, $3,432 was raised from this competition alone.
Find out what's happening in Danvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"We got involved because we saw the immediate need and knew that we had a group that could come together quickly and bring change for the suffering people of Haiti," said Sunee Washom, a junior and leader in the Hope for Haiti campaign. "We could not turn our heads or close our eyes. The TVs and radios were screaming at us and we believed we were capable of making a difference."
Of course, SRVHS didn't stop their fundraising there. A Hope for Haiti Benefit Night was hosted Feb. 3 at the San Ramon Valley Performing Arts Center.
As I sat in the third row, I was moved by how these students took time out of their busy schedules to raise money for Haiti. Members of the choir, instrumental music, drama, and dance programs all performed that night.
This benefit night was organized by a club at SRVHS called Generation 4 Change, whose motto is "If not us, who? If not now, when?" This club is dedicated to partnering with non-profit organizations to raise awareness for people in need. Members of this club were standing by all night selling red T-shirts logoed with "Hope for Haiti" and red bracelets, as well as accepting donations for the school's Haiti fund. From this night, $2,988 dollars was raised.
Another fundraiser was held at the basketball games the week of Feb. 8. The crowd was asked to donate one dollar for every point scored by the Wolves, during the women's basketball game Feb. 9 against Granada and the men's basketball game Feb. 11 against California. After both of these exciting games, $1,100 dollars was raised for the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund.
Coming up this Spring, in March or April, two other SRVHS events will focus on raising money for Haiti: an improv show organized by students in drama and the annual GQ competition.
