LATEST NEWS

February 3, 2005
Quarters From Kids on MTV!

January 31, 2005
A charter school in River Oaks has raised $240 for the relief effort.

From California:

A charter school in River Oaks has raised $240 for the relief effort. The goal is one dollar per child, for a total of $352. The project is headed by a group of fifth-grade students who do independent community projects. They have created posters, made presentations in each classroom, and placed a five-gallon water jug out to collect donations. They also located a sponsoring company who will match its donation, so the school’s contribution goal has doubled to $704.

January 26, 2005
Senior at Carson High School spearheads Quarters From Kids Campaign.

From California:

The Quarters From Kids Campaign at Carson High School is being spearheaded by a senior who is editor of the school newspaper. She called together a planning meeting with leaders from more than a dozen student groups, including Peer Counseling, Key Club, Bilingual Teaching Academy, Civic Studies, Volleyball, Black Student Union, Pacific Islanders Club, and Cheerleaders. Carson High School in South Los Angeles is one of the most diverse public high schools in southern California.

The students chose the week of February 14-18 for the fundraising and awareness activities such as entertainment, speeches, and educational materials being available during lunch. Students will distribute yellow water bottles to all teachers. These will be used as coin collectors to raise money for Save the Children.

The culminating event will be a “Battle of the Bands” sponsored by the Greenpeace student group. This event will also raise money for Save the Children.

January 25, 2005
Jr.NBA/WNBA signs on as promotional partner!
Will feature QFK during All-Star weekend festivities

January 24, 2005
From North Carolina: Greensboro Children's Museum has opened its doors for donations.

January 19, 2005
Quarters From Kids Featured at the Youth Inaugural!

January 17, 2005
Quarters From Kids highlighted on Crossfire

Paul Begala, host of CNN's Crossfire, said the following about Quarters From Kids:

“Its aim is simple, yet audacious. It is to involve every single child in America in raising millions for the victims of the tsunami. Kids are being asked to collect a little spare change from mom and dad, hold bake sales, donate proceeds from babysitting, anything to be a little more other- centered, rather than self-centered.

“And, sure enough, as I was driving to our studio today in subfreezing weather, neighborhood kids were holding a bake sale at the local gas station to raise money for tsunami victims. QuartersFromKids.org. Dr. King would be proud.”

We thank Paul for his kind words and hope other television shows mention Quarters From Kids!

January 12, 2005
AMERICA'S YOUNGEST HELPING WORLD'S NEEDIEST: NATIONWIDE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES WITH SUPPORT OF FORMER PRESIDENTS BUSH AND CLINTON

The nation is answering President George W. Bush's call for a united response - led by former Presidents George H. W. Bush and William Jefferson Clinton, with the USA Freedom Corps - to the tsunami devastation in South and Southeast Asia. The Quarters From Kids philanthropic campaign ensures that America's youngest can reach out to the world's neediest as part of this humanitarian effort.

Quarters From Kids is designed to ensure that the initial response to the tsunami disaster is followed by a sustained commitment through the end of this school year and beyond. Quarters From Kids enables every young person, and adults who work with them, to raise and contribute funds to established relief organizations working in the region.

PERSONAL STORIES

From Massachusetts...
My football players for Central High School's Play it Smart program are currently raising money throughout their lunch periods for Quarters From Kids. The kids did all of the publicity -- made the posters, talked it up to their peers, and even decorated the donation bucket. We have collected $53 in cash and close to $20 in change!

From Massachusetts...
My friend and I went outside and played our guitars on the street. We asked people walking by if they wanted to help support the tsunami victims. We were able to raise $14.29 on the first day! We hope to raise more money very soon!

From Minnesota...
I teach at a middle school, grades 5 to 8. I decided to do a “penny for your thoughts” drive. The students in our building brought all their spare change for two days to donate to the survivors of the tsunami. In the two days we raised $1,039.33. Students were bringing piggy bank money or bringing their allowances. It really made me realize what big hearts our kids have.

From Illinois...
Students are collecting quarters with each classroom competing to collect the most! The school goal is to collect 1,000 quarters! Student Council is sponsoring an after-school dance on February 3 with the proceeds going to the collection also. Parents are baking cookies and brownies to sell, donating frosting and sprinkles for a cookie decorating station.

From Arkansas...
As part of City Year Little Rock's Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, 100 kids in kindergarten through second grade are planning to discuss the tsunami and other world issues, then create artwork that will be auctioned to raise money for Quarters From Kids!

From Massachusetts...
I am writing to share with you a fundraising effort a friend and I have begun to raise money for the children affected by the tsunami. We came up with the idea of a children for children project to create and sell a necklace of leather with a single Indian ceramic bead. Our children made these necklaces by tying knots on either side of the bead and attaching a label explaining our effort. We named the necklace Tamboon, which is a Thai word meaning to give or donate. We are selling Tamboon for $5 and our six children raised $800 on Saturday selling door-to-door locally in just a couple of hours. Since then, word has traveled about our project, and many schools and individuals in our Boston area are eager to be a part of the effort. We are careful to remain steadfast to our mission that this be a children for children project supported by adults. All that we raise will be given to Save the Children. We hope that there is some way you can help us get the word out about our project. The supplies are readily available and the design is simple.

From Georgia...
Our student council met yesterday and has worked out a plan. After the hurricanes, the reps from each room collected money each Friday and gave the kids who donated stickers. My class was actually the biggest donors! The goal for second grade (there are 9 at my school) was $350, and my class alone collected that. Isn’t that cool?

Anyway, they are doing a similar thing for tsunami victims. Starting this week, we will collect every Friday. But, there’s a new incentive. You know those Livestrong and breast cancer bands everyone is wearing? Well, a family at school is having blue ones made that say tsunami relief, and kids who donate over $3 get one. I’ll read the entirety of the relief idea after school and see if we can use that, too. At the very least, I can send some links in my weekly newsletter to the class.

From Oregon...
I am serving this year as an NWSA AmeriCorps member at Pacific Crest Community School as a service-learning coordinator. I was forwarded information about the Quarters From Kids campaign from Bonnie Cushman and would like to tell you about the success of our fundraising efforts at Pacific Crest. The students and I, feeling that we must do something to help those suffering in Southeast Asia, organized a community benefit-breakfast held this morning. Over the last week the students voted on which organization should receive the money raised, and they overwhelmingly chose Mercy Corps.

The students then spent the next few days securing donations from the community. Donations were generously given by Starbucks on Burnside, Noah's Bagels on Hawthorne, Stumptown Coffee and Marsee Baking. The students distributed flyers throughout the neighborhood and at local businesses inviting all to come and enjoy our breakfast, and come they did! With a turnout of about 100 people, the students, who requested a $6 suggested donation, raised close to $2,500 with more money expected to come tomorrow. There was a slide show presentation as well as musical entertainment provided by PCCS students. Pacific Crest is a small alternative high school with a student body of about 85 students. Given the small number of students at the school their efforts were huge and their success was great. I hope that you will be able to use our story. The students could not be more thrilled with their success and I have had three come to me and ask me how they can become AmeriCorps members when they graduate. To have teenagers interested in possibly dedicating years of their lives to service makes an event like the tsunami benefit-breakfast a success on more then one level!

A Few Stories From Michigan...
The Kids Club at South Haven Public Schools has been discussing the plight of the people involved in the tsunami disaster and wanted to do something to help. After brainstorming many ideas, the kids came up with a plan. They decided to write a letter to their parents to ask for their help in collecting money. They also decided to donate a portion of the profits from their “Cool School Tool Store” (run by members of The Kids Club). The kids have set a goal of raising $600. In the first two days, a class of 50 kids aged 7 to 9 has collected $46.76 – with plans to collect much more.

The students of Churchill School are collecting cans from the whole school and sending the money to the tsunami victims. Some children are having their parents take back their own cans and send the money so the collection will go faster. Many of the children in the second-grade class have been inspired to bring cans and money, and the collection keeps going! The whole school is involved.

NHS students at John Glenn High School are organizing a couch raffle. They are selling tickets for $1 each to sit on a couch during our school’s home basketball game on January 21. The winning student gets to pick two friends to join him/her for the comfiest seat in the house.

A careers class at Meridian High School, an alternative high school that is part of the public school system in Haslett, MI, responded with a three-pronged fundraising approach: bake sale, donation drums around the school, and a drive for collecting pop cans. Another class is hosting a donut sale, and the proceeds will be put together with whatever we raise. When we first started talking about it, many of the students weren’t interested in helping. However, we continued to discuss it in light of the quote from Teddy Roosevelt which goes something like, “This country won’t be good for any of us until it is good for all of us.” As students came to understand the location, the extent of the devastation, and the human tragedy, they wanted to help.

The students in the Forest Hills Public Schools are collecting pre-packaged T-shirts for the tsunami victims. Students made posters to spread the word, and the Advance newspaper covered the event. Through the newspaper, community members were informed they could also make donations to be dropped off at their community public school.

Our students have been doing a new T-shirt drive. The response has been great, and we have a large number of shirts that are being shipped at the end of this week. We thought that having some new clean shirts would be appreciated by those in need and probably not part of the efforts by other organizations.

Churchill Elementary is holding a “Cans for the Coast” pop can drive. Their funds have been matched by a local business.

Douglas Elementary School is doing a fundraiser involving the whole school. The goal is to reach $1,000 by January 21. Children came around and talked to each class about the disaster, showed pictures, and left a big water bottle in each class to collect funds. An article is also going in the paper to get the community involved.

From Indiana...
Our tsunami efforts are headed by a 3rd and 4th period Language Arts class. When the teacher asked the class if they wanted to create a unit that would involve the community and the entire building, they were all for it. The teacher took a step back, and the planning began. All ideas are student generated. To date, the school has donation cans in businesses throughout the Trafalgar area and in the cafeteria that feeds both the middle and high school students. In addition, we have events in place over the next two weeks to raise funds in other ways. For example, the students held a spirit week in which all students had to pay a dollar to dress for the day assigned, such as hat day and crazy hair day. Next week, my class and the Team Asset Group (known as the TAG team) will sell ribbons and donation hearts that they have created and assembled.

From Massachusetts...
My Girl Scout Troop ... was selling cookies with a portion of the proceeds going towards the Tsunami Relief fund. We are pleased to say we will be donating $500 through Quarters From Kids this week, from our first round of fundraising.

From Illinois...
FCHS Campaign Raises Over $4,000! The Fairfield Community High School (FCHS) C.I.V.I.C.S. Class (Caring Individuals Vested In Community Service) and Student Council generated $4,373!. "Linking Our World Together" was the name of the campaign. Students from FCHS and other schools sold paper links for $1 each with their name written on them. Kids made paper chain links (spirit links) in their school colors, and each chain was linked into one enormous chain that wrapped around the gym floor several times. The FCHS Show Choir sang "We Are the World" as the chain was brought in to the gym, and a full house of fans stood and applauded. We donated the money to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund to help tsunami survivors. The money was raised in just one week.

From Texas...
Our first graders learned about being philanthropists. They wanted to help the tsunami victims. So they decided to save their ice cream money. They chose to send it to the Red Cross. They did it in memory of a beloved teacher who died in a car accident this past July.

From California...
At Marin Country Day School the 3rd-5th grade student council met for the first time last week. They immediately said that they wanted to raise money for tsunami victims and that was their top priority. They organized a bake sale, they learned about quarters from kids and they raised over $1,000. They are dividing the money between UNICEF and Oxfam. They are very proud of themselves for moving into action so quickly.

From New York...
Our daughter, Theresa, recently turned 11. For her birthday party, she asked that her friends not bring a gift for her. Instead, they could bring a donation for the tsunami victims. Her friends responded, and $79.50 was collected. There was a check, some bills, and some loose change. Precious! In one of the cards she received from a close friend, it read "I think the tsunami donation was the most unselfish thing in the world," and I agree! What child doesn't like to receive presents, especially on their birthday? Yet Theresa knew that others were much more in need than she. We're so proud of our daughter!

From New York...
We are a class at Our Lady of Guadalupe Middle School for Girls. We have been raising money to go to New York for our spring class trip, but for the month of January, we decided that everything we made should go to the tsunami relief efforts. We made $136.56, and we are going to donate it to Do Something: Kids Tsunami Relief Fund. We are glad to help!

From Texas...
To help the growing number of children who are concerned about the tsunami disaster, the Children's Ministries office here at Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church in Austin Texas has organized a penny and change drive for our school age children. The children will be walking on their own streets with a parent on Super Bowl Sunday between 3 and 5 p.m. collecting change. We are asking them to return the money collected to Sunday School on the February 13, which happens to be Mission Sunday for our congregation. We are planning to send our funds to PC USA Disaster Relief but other churches, schools or individuals who collect could send the funds to any of the organizations supported by Quarters From Kids. The children want to help rebuild homes, hospitals and schools. I had the idea of a change drive after a six-year-old collected over $40 in pennies one Sunday afternoon last fall. She brought the change to Sunday School to give to the poor. Children have a valuable part to play in healing those affected by the Tsunami. Children do not see the obstacles adults worry about! They want to help, and this is one way we are helping them help others.

From Florida...
When we heard about the tsunami in Asia we knew we had to help. We went on "Good Morning Littlewood," our school's television show, and asked for donations from other kids. We are glad they took it seriously! We raised $453.34 and donated it to Oxfam America and the Red Cross. We hope that the families we visited when we went to Thailand can be helped. Sincerely, Rebecca (age 9) and Joseph (age 11)

From New York...
Our student council from our school P.S. 209 an elementary school in Whitestone, Queens, NY met and set a fund raising goal of $3,500 to be donated to UNICEF (they chose UNICEF after investigating different charities) Notices were sent home. Student council member walked to as a group asking local merchants if we could put a collection bin in their establishment. (The label said funds were being collected on behalf of P.S. 209) To date we have raised $6,100.

From Illinois...
I am a senior at Clifton Central High School and working to help Quarters From Kids. Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) has taken Quarters From Kids as the National Community Service Project for the 2005 National Conference. I am a state officer for Illinois and am working to collect money at my section and school. My goal is to have $200 to take to the Illinois State Conference with me in April.

From West Virginia...
After hearing about the terrible disaster, most college students were still away on the holiday break. A group from the Student Health Advisory Council came back to campus and began developing a strategy to get our university involved in the relief effort. We wanted to complete a project that would benefit the Quarters for Kids coalition. We decided to call our project "Dollars for Disaster" and designed a program around the belief that even one person can make a difference. We began building a coalition of university administrators, student organizations, and fellow students. The project came together very quickly, and the outpouring was phenomenal. Much of the country focuses on national campaigns and looks at K-12 students during these times of crisis, but we knew that as students of Higher Education, we could make a difference. We wanted to have all the plans complete before the students returned to campus, and through the work of many, it was accomplished.

We developed a system to have collection booths around our campus at various locations. Engineering professors donated printing materials, student organizations donated time making collection boxes, and administrators helped build a press packet for the local media. It was one of the most collaborative efforts I have ever been part of. When students returned to campus, we called for volunteers to work at the collection sites, and the student body responded. We had collections at over 13 sites on campus. We also wanted to educate our student body on how a tsunami can happen and its global effects. We coordinated a public forum and invited geologists, students from that region, and political scientists and had a very enlightening discussion on this terrible disaster.

Currently, we have raised over $8,200 for the relief efforts and that number continues to grow. Although we don't live in a major city or even a major state, we wanted to do anything we could to help, because we believe that as a global family we can all do our part. Every person who has been involved can share a story of how this project touched their heart. We hope that our efforts will help and show others that "there is here" and we are all members of this global family.