Half a World Away, Burroughs Students Raise Money for Japan

“Grandma, there was fire and there was water and people died and we have to do something to help them.”

Those were the words Janel McGreevy heard her three-year-old granddaughter say after waiting 12 agonizing hours to connect with her son and his family in Japan following the devastating earthquake on March 11. McGreevy is a fifth grade teacher at ; her son Steven lives in Nagano, Japan with his wife Natsuko and two young daughters, Keely and Anne.

With family in Japan and having been there herself, McGreevy said she felt a personal connection to the victims. McGreevy, who has been teaching her students about Japan for some time, took her granddaughter’s plea to them. The students quickly determined that they should raise funds for the American Red Cross.

McGreevy’s fifth grade class came up with the theme Kids Who Care. That evening, one student went home and designed a logo. Soon the rest of the fifth grade was involved, and then the rest of the school.

Students began collecting spare change and donations. Kids also began raising money on their own in creative ways. Some did chores; others walked dogs. One group of students held a bake sale in front of the school and raised over $500 in one day.

Another group teamed up with and set up a table outside the business with awareness ribbons and a donation bucket, collecting over $400. The awareness ribbons were thoughtfully designed on pink cherry blossom ribbon with hand-cut Japanese characters symbolizing “helping hands.” 

Partnering with McGreevy’s students, Patisserie 46 chose to donate a quarter of its bread sales to the cause for four days. John Kraus said he had been trying to decide what to do through the business to help the cause.

“We were out front talking to the girls and I thought why not put it all into one? We were going to donate to Red Cross anyway,” Kraus said.

Kraus also said he was amazed by what the three fifth graders, Emma Adams, Claire Romano and Lydia Clemence, were able to do.

From the bake sale to the awareness ribbons, the students’ ambition and enthusiasm impressed McGreevy as well. The original idea to collect spare change and small donations for Red Cross was similar to initiatives students and the school have taken before. What really moved McGreevy was the way the students took the effort into their own hands and made it so much more.

“These bigger projects have just blown me away,” McGreevy said. 

Turning it into an educational experience in addition to a humanitarian one, McGreevy’s students have learned more about Japan and taken the information to other classes in the school.

Burroughs principal Tim Cadotte also plans to bring a representative from Red Cross to the school at the end of April to speak to the students and collect the donation. 

The disaster in Japan is overwhelming and the road to recovery is long, but Heidi Clemence, mother of Lydia Clemence, said she sees this as a reminder of “what a great community we live in and how a little effort from a group of fifth graders can go a long way.”

So far, the kids have managed to raise more than $1,000, but they’re not done. The students at Burroughs will be collecting donations for Red Cross through the end of the month. If you would like to contribute, you can donate directly to Red Cross, drop off a donation at the Burroughs Community School office, or visit Emma Adams, Claire Romano and Lydia Clemence outside Patisserie 46 again this Sunday between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. (weather permitting).