Haiti Marketplace

A HUGE thank you goes to Kathy Stauffer from Columbus, OH for her support of Kids Against Hunger! After the devastating earthquake in Haiti, she felt compelled to do something to help the people that were suffering. Desiring to make a difference, Kathy helped organize a fundraiser at an elementary school that raised $4,070, half of which went to Kids Against Hunger - Cincinnati! The $2,035 contribution to KAH will purchase the ingredients to produce 8,140 meals, or enough nutritious Kids Against Hunger food packets to feed almost 23 starving children for ONE YEAR!!!!

Here's her story, in her own words:

The event was put together in just over four weeks. My family is not involved in the Roots and Shoots organization that is mentioned in the article. The day after the earthquake in Haiti, I was totally overwhelmed with the things I was seeing on the news. I prayed and prayed for the many people there. But, I also prayed if there was something else my family and I could do. I got on the internet and found Kids Against Hunger. I had never heard of it before that day. I also talked to a few teachers at my children’s school to see if they had plans to do anything. That is how I got hooked up with the Root and Shoots group.

I attended their meeting on January 22nd. As the kids brainstormed many ideas of how they could help, one girl said, we could put all these together and have a marketplace. Throughout the next week the adults decided we could take on this venture and the planning began. I wish you could have been there to see how the how Wickliffe School community came together to make this happen.

There was ANOTHER snow storm that had started a few hours before the event began but that did not stop people from coming out. As families entered the front doors there were signs about Kids Against Hunger, a donation box for consumables, along with the video you sent me trailed by a Kirk Franklin “Help Haiti” video. About ½ hour into the night, the drum circle came out and joined us at the entry so kids could participate in playing bongos and other drums together. It was quite fun. Those who entered the gym could bid on silent auction items such as art by local professional artist, restaurant gift cards and more. The silent auction alone made almost $1,000. There were a few rows of tables with handmade crafts, jewelry, t-shirts and more. There were a few Caribbean musicians playing next to the market place then a long row of dinner items that had been donated by local restaurants and stores. ALL the money made went to the fund.

Outside of the gym there was a bake sale, hot chocolate stand, face painting, a puppet show and story reading of Haitian folklore and some games. It took many volunteers. But, the night was a success. Many people want to “do” something because there hearts were filled with grief for the people of Haiti This event gave them a way to contribute.

A local newspaper wrote an article of the event, you can find the article here.

Thanks Kathy!