Madison Elementary School students have collected more than a ton of rice and raised almost $1,500 for the victims of the Haiti earthquake.
Friday morning, students took their bags of rice out to the bus that will travel to the island nation.
"Having been there, the kids couldn't communicate with me, but they would hold my hand and try to talk with me," said Jennifer Byall, Madison nurse. She said they'd rub their bellies, and when Byall asked the translator what they were trying to say, she was told they were hungry.
Byall was in Haiti with a group from Jan. 20 to Jan. 26 to help the victims. The earthquake occurred Jan. 12.
The bus with donations from the Madison School family will head to Miami and then to St. Marc's Port in Haiti next week. St. Marc's Port is about three hours from Port Au Prince.
Each of the more than 500 Madison students got to carry at least one bag of rice out to the bus. There was a total of 2,231 pounds of rice.
The school also collected $1,469.19 during its "Change for the Children of Haiti".
A large jug was placed in the office, and students voluntarily dropped coins in the jar to "make a change" in Haiti.
The jug also was available at the last home basketball game at Madison, and all the money made from the sale of popcorn went into that jug. Many members of the community also gave that night.
Third-grade teacher Honey Lou Neff travels to Haiti twice year. She also has an adopted son from Haiti and his children attend Madison.
Every year, students in the lower grades collect new toys, toothpaste, school supplies, etc. at Christmas and Neff delivers them to Haiti with a group from her church.
"I'm amazed," Neff said Friday of how much rice and money the Madison students collected. "I never thought it would come to this amount."
Students held the collection over a two-week period.
The bus with donations from Madison will leave next week from Touch of Life Church on a flatbed semi truck to Miami. A member of the church donated the bus and shipping. The truck then will travel to Haiti by barge.Besides the rice, the bus will be filled with three generators, three cement mixers, thousands of dollars of tools, blankets, tents, tarps and thousands of bottles of water donated by the community. They are the "most needed items."
