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Touched by the magnitude of the disaster in Haiti, local groups spurred to action

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Haitians wait to receive supplies in late January through OPADEL, a Haitian community association near La Montagne. Williams Bay resident Mike Goodman, cofounder of Yonn Ede Lot, which works with Haitian communities, said the migration from Port au Prince and Jacmel, sites of severe earthquake’s destruction, to rural areas such as La Montagne is stretching the resources of rural families.

Members of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestling team sold T-shirts and sponsored a pancake breakfast last month to raise money for Haitian relief efforts. Pictured in front, from the left, are wrestler Austin Bautista, wrestler Adam Latella and team manager Danielle Zimmerman. In back, at left, is Jon Gordon, Chartwells food service building director for the University Center, and wrestler James Zarate. Photo submitted.

ELKHORN — Jessica Winkler had just finished a unit on natural disasters in her science class at Lakeland School, where’s she’s a secondary teacher, when on Jan. 12, the first news reports of the 7.0-magnitude Haitian earthquake came in.

The lesson hit home for Winkler’s class as she showed them news clips and photos of the destruction.

“The students became very emotionally attached instantly,” Winkler said. “I had some who looked at me and said, ‘Can this happen at our school?’”

Students bounced around a few ideas to raise money for relief efforts, and decided on a candy sale, using candy they’d bought or that was donated by parents or staff. The sale brought in $660 in a 90-minute period. During the event, students also showed a slideshow of some of the quake photos that had touched them.

Another fundraiser is being planned closer to the end of the school year.

Delavan-Darien High School’s Lydian Choir organized “Haiti Helpaolooza,” a concert featuring local bands and disc jockeys that raised $1,700. Students also brought in $250 from T-shirt sales and $200 in a fund drive of their own. Proceeds went to Friends of the Children, a Delavan-based nonprofit that brings medical and dental care to clinics in La Montagne, Haiti. Tom Reichert, a DDHS police liaison officer, is a member of the group.

Lake Geneva Badger High School seniors Lane Sailer and Mike Simonson collected $1,500 from students and local businesses in a contest that allowed kids who raised the most funds to throw a pie at a teacher.

At the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the Warhawks wrestling team put on a “Pancake the Quake” fundraising breakfast.

The event was part of a larger effort by former UW-Whitewater wrestlers Matt Werner and Phill Klamm, now teachers in Rock County, who cofounded Wrestling the World, a group that promotes helping those in poverty and need worldwide.

Read the full story in the e-edition of Walworth County Sunday, HERE.