EDITORIAL: Students work to help Haitians

Thumbs up to the 15 students who make up the National French Honor Society at Mayo High School for Math, Science & Technology in Darlington. After hearing about the earthquake in Haiti, they decided to hold a weeklong fundraiser to help. The group made the fundraiser a competition challenging each first block class in the school to raise the most money by passing around decorated jars for coins. The class with the highest per-student average collection won breakfast from Hardee’s. The winning class, Wanda Hodge’s nine AP Calculus students won, collecting $18.97 per student. The group also held a bake sale and made posters promoting the drive. In five days, the school of fewer than 400 students collected $2,000. All the funds from this student-driven project will go to Doctors without Borders. The Doctors without Borders’ hospital was destroyed, and several of its doctors were killed during the earthquake. “They’re having so much trouble getting things into the country, Doctors without Borders is already there and established, and you know the money goes directly to medical care,” teacher Gloria Martineau said. Since the honor society’s formation at Mayo, the club has donated to Doctors without Borders, a humanitarian organization that was founded by doctors and journalists in France in 1971. Every December, the group holds a bake sale called Café Noel that usually earns around $200. This year it raised close to $250. “They’re just a really good bunch of kids. They’re not great, they’re wonderful,” Martineau said.

Thumbs up to all in the Hartsville community who have contributed to Haiti earthquake relief efforts through a variety of collections and fundraisers. Money’s being collected following People to People’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Service, during a pancake breakfast at Morningside of Hartsville and during a Thomas E. Hart Academy Walk-A-Thon. Clayton Richardson, program coordinator for People to People, asked the community to donate to the Haiti relief effort and raised $500. Diners eating at Morningside assisted living center got preferential treatment from celebrity waiters, including Hartsville Mayor Mel Pennington. The facility will continue to collect funds for Haiti through Sunday. Ann Marie Pennington, executive director, and Katie Anderson, marketing and administrative assistant, are in charge of the fundraising. The Thomas E. Hart Athletic Booster Club and Student Government Association sponsor the Haiti Walk-A-Thon at 2 p.m. Feb. 1 on the school’s athletic field. All funds will go to the American Red Cross, and the booster club will donate a portion of matching funds. Students from grades 3K through eighth grade, parents, teachers and staff will be participating and walking as many laps as they can around the field in 30 minutes. All funds pledged are due by Feb. 9. To support this event or get more information, call Thomas E. Hart Academy Athletic Director Selena Davis or Amy Jenner at (843) 332-4991.

Thumbs up to the 28 students enrolled in the Francis Marion University’s School of Business’ course, Non-Profit Management-351, who raised $2,000 for the FMU Civitan Club. They did so during the fall 2009 semester by selling Attractions Dining and Value Guide using a variety of business techniques to market and promote the books to family members, friends, FMU and the Pee Dee . This was the second year the project was sponsored by the course led by Dr. Joe Aniello, assistant professor of management. Based on lessons learned from the first year of sales, the students doubled their productivity by selling more than 200 books in 2009. The top-selling team sold 50 books and cited the work of Special Olympics as their motivation. Special Olympics, held on the university campus every spring, is sponsored by the FMU Civitan Club. Attractions pays $10 for every book sold with all the profits being remitted directly to a chosen charity. Aniello said he hopes to make the project an annual fall event for the class as non-profit management courses take on more importance as an interdisciplinary option for both business majors and non-business majors, alike.
“During recessionary times, I think everyone is looking for the kind of savings that the coupon discounts represent,” he said. “However, many competing groups were actually selling these and other similar books, during the same time period. It is a real tribute to our students’ ingenuity and persistence to have done so well with their sales results.”