A lesson in generosity
Published 12:01 am Saturday, April 2, 2011
EVERETT — When the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan last month, St. Mary Magdalen Catholic School in Everett decided to offer more than prayer.
The school organized a rummage sale to help people in Japan. Teachers reached out to the families of more than 400 students asking them to donate toys for the event, dubbed Gifts from the Heart.
On March 22, students came to take their pick from hundreds of toys, many selling for $1 or less. Sixth-graders Caroline Adams and Brittany Ligman brought $10 each. Caroline picked up some slingshots and Brittany got a picture of a whale. They donated the rest of their money.
Brittany donated her old bicycle for the sale, and someone quickly bought it. She didn’t mind giving it up.
“I knew the money was going to Japan,” she said.
This was the fourth time St. Mary organized a fundraiser to help disaster victims worldwide, said Jo Johnson, who works at the school.
St. Mary held sales after the Haitian earthquake last year, the Chehalis flood in 2007 and the Indonesian tsunami in 2004, raising a combined $24,000. All of the proceeds go to relief efforts.
“The generosity of these students is just unbelievable,” Johnson said.
She told a story about a first-grader who donated a plastic bag full of coins — savings from the piggy bank meant for an iPod — during the fundraiser for Haiti.
At the sale last month, students were having fun while getting their lessons in sharing. Fifth-grader Dan Haub brought three stuffed animals, a bunch of marbles and “a ball that lights up when you bounce it.” He was inspecting tables with stuffed animals and Matchbox cars.
These fundraisers get children involved in the community, even if they are helping people half the world away, Johnson said.
Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452; kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
