By Greg Grisolano
ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Students at Carl Junction High School are among those at several Southwest Missouri schools participating in the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s “Kits 4 Kids” drive.
“There’s a lot of reasons for (getting involved),” said David Pyle, assistant principal at Carl Junction High School. “I think it teaches students a little bit about being aware of things globally and learning to help others.”
Haiti was devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Jan. 12. Hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless and without basic necessities.
Pyle said support for the project at the school has been favorable, but he did not have an exact number of how many kits had been completed. He said that in addition to purchasing items, students have made posters to help raise awareness.
State education officials, in conjunction with an international relief organization based in Springfield, launched a statewide project last week to involve Missouri schoolchildren in Haiti relief efforts.
The state department hopes to assemble 100,000 hygiene kits to distribute to Haitian children by next week. The kits will include toothpaste, shampoo, a bar of soap, a toothbrush, a comb and a hand towel packed in a plastic zipper bag, according to a Web site established by the department.
The kits will be collected and distributed in Haiti by Convoy of Hope, a Springfield-based organization that already has resources on the ground in Haiti. State officials are requesting that the completed kits be delivered to one of the 11 Regional Professional Development Centers across the state that are affiliated with the state education department.
Other districts
Other area school districts that are participating include Jasper, Monett and Sheldon, according to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
