Sending Smiles to Haiti

The Serve To LEAD club at Owen High School in Swannanoa, N.C., spent the fall collecting toys, school supplies, hygiene items, and fun things to fill gift boxes for the children we serve in Haiti. After learning about the gang violence that has gripped Haiti for the past several years, the teens wanted to do something to bring joy to the lives of the children caught in this protracted crisis.

Serve To LEAD club members challenged classes to compete with each other; the class that brought in the most items won a pancake party. Each day, more and more stuffed animals, notebooks, crayons, toothbrushes, and more are poured into collection boxes in classrooms. The winning class collected over 4000 items!

Club members filled 108 boxes that were shipped to Haiti, along with other necessities and additional gift boxes from partners in Florida. Children in the rural region of Sarazin were overjoyed to receive these gifts and, with big smiles, eagerly explored the contents of each box. The day was filled with fun as the children enjoyed being kids, laughing, playing, and sharing a hot meal of chicken, rice, and beans.