Emptying the piggy banks and ordering pizza for tsunami aid

A group of elementary students from Jackson has learned how to get involved and help others who have faced a tragedy.

"I want you to give yourselves a round of applause and a pat on the back," Amanda Lincoln, Cape Girardeau American Red Cross development specialist, told the South Elementary students of Jackson as they presented her with a $1,000 check on Wednesday to aid the victims of the tsunamis in Asia.

"America has provided the American Red Cross with almost $200 million and I want you to know that you guys are a part of that," she added. "And we just want to say 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.'"

Lincoln explained the need for vaccination kits to help prevent the future spread of disease and keep 22 million children from becoming sick.

First-grade student Cassidy Thompson broke into her own piggy bank to combat that possibility. "I think about their water because it's really nasty and if they drink it they get sick," she said.

School librarian Susan Skelton is the catalyst for the fund raiser. She showed the children a photo essay on the Time For Kids Web site to bring the distant devastation into their minds and hearts. The Web site also provided a description of the disaster in elementary terms and a link to the Red Cross for fund-raising ideas.

"I told them don't beg for money. Go home and ask to walk the dog," said Skelton. "They were supposed to work for it."

Students cleaned their rooms, cooked dinner, gave massages to their parents, washed dishes and searched the laundry room and couch cushions for every coin and dollar they could scrounge up.

Likewise, 12-year-old Julie Langenfeld, a student at Central Junior High School, felt a need to raise as much money as she could to help these people. After watching TV clips and Channel One, a nationwide news channel for students available in the classroom, she said, "I felt horrible. I felt it was my responsibility to do something."

Langenfeld visited the Web site suggested on TV and found out about food nights as fund raisers. She decided to call Domino's owner Dan Lynn. Langenfeld said, "He thought it was a great idea."

Emily Goode, Langenfeld's teacher, said, "I'm really impressed. Julie organized this herself. She came to me for resources but about three-quarters of the work she's done herself."

After a number of phone calls, a lot of planning and getting clearance from the principal, Langenfeld's idea came to fruition: a "Tsunami Pizza Event" held at Domino's Pizzas in Cape Girardeau.

This Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, mentioning "tsunami" when ordering a regular-priced pizza will result in a $2 donation to the junior high relief fund. All proceeds from this promotion will be donated to the American Red Cross. Participating Dominos include the store at 1028 N. Sprigg St., 651-3880, and 1410 N. Kingshighway, 334-9988.