Recovery efforts to help Haiti have been ongoing following the Jan. 12 earthquake and the subsequent aftershocks that rocked the country. Leavenworth County residents have also been doing their part, with a number of different groups pitching in for the effort.
Here are some examples of what local people are doing:
n The Council on Aging in Leavenworth is planning a “walking taco” luncheon that is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 18 at 109-A Delaware St., alley entrance. Scarlet Olson of the council said admission to the luncheon will be $5 and will include homemade cookies, brownies, soda or coffee and, for those in a hurry — curbside to-go service with carhops.
Olson said the fundraiser will benefit a specific, often overlooked victim of natural disasters — the older population.
“The monumental horror of Haiti’s crises and the plight of their older displaced survivors is beyond imagination,” Linda Lobb, council director, said in a release.
One-hundred percent of the proceeds from the luncheon will go to the AARP Foundation’s Haiti Relief Fund. According to a release from the council, the AARP will also match the funds raised from the event. In addition to helping with relief efforts, Olson also said the council hopes to bring some awareness to the older population of the country through the effort.
n Students from Howard Wilson and Nettie Hartnett elementary schools in Leavenworth both organized mobile lemonade stands, selling cups to other students during lunch time.
Ann Broeker’s third-grade students at Howard Wilson were able to raise $600 for the Red Cross’ relief efforts with their lemonade and snack stand, according to a release from the school.
Taking a cue from her colleague, Julie Cannon, a third-grade teacher at Nettie Hartnett, teamed up with fellow teacher Lori Humble and a group of students to do the same thing from Feb. 1 through Feb. 10. With cups donated by Sonic and lemonade mix from Country Mart, Cannon said the students have been selling cups of lemonade for 50 scents each, with the proceeds also going to the American Red Cross.
Both efforts coincide with related classroom lessons, Cannon said, which allowed students to learn about the disaster and the problems it has caused for the people there.
“We need to figure out how to help them,” she told the students.
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