Schoolchildren and educators are organizing to respond to victims of the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated much of Haiti鈥檚 capital city, Port-au-Prince.
UNESCO announced in a that the university in Port-au-Prince and numerous primary and secondary schools in the city had been destroyed, and that many teachers and students had lost their lives.
鈥淓ducation is at the core of Haiti鈥檚 recovery and is the key to Haiti鈥檚 development,鈥� the statement from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization said.
Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, called on AFT members to donate money through the and the to respond to the crisis.
Here are just some of the many organizations that are currently accepting donations to help with the relief effort in Haiti.
Communities with strong ties to the island nation were mobilizing.
At Randolph High School in Randolph, Mass.鈥攚here 135 students, or 18 percent, are of Haitian heritage鈥攇uidance counselors were reported to be offering support to anxious students. Palm Beach County, Fla., school officials put out a press release calling for members of the community to donate to international relief organizations and to take up collections of food and personal items, such as blankets and towels, that could be sent to Haiti, a local news report said.
The Miami-Dade County, Fla., school board voted unanimously to begin collecting donations for victims of the earthquake, according to Gemma Catire, an assistant to a district communications officer. She said nearly 19 percent of the district鈥檚 300,000 students are of Haitian heritage.
The Miami-Dade board decided to open an old high school building as a collection center for supplies that could be sent to Haiti. Some district employees, including maintenance personnel and electricians, volunteered to travel to Haiti to help with the relief effort, a district press release said.
