Students lend a hand to Haiti mission group

A group of parishioners at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Algonquin recently announced they were going on a mission trip to Haiti.

The parishioners made a presentation to the school about their trip. In response to that presentation, fifth-grade parish school students in Sally Quinlan and Nicole Hinds classes went into action.

The students donated fleece and, on Family Day during Catholic Schools Week, made blankets with their parents. These blankets will be sent with the parishioners when they go to Haiti. The blankets will be presented to children who are living in severe poverty.

The fifth-grade students were not done yet. They also collected change over the course of a week. They collected $425, which also will be presented to the people of Haiti. The money will be used to purchase donkeys. It will allow one or two children to go to school, because the donkeys will now be available to carry buckets of water throughout the day, a job usually done by children.

It is not just the fifth-grade students who became involved. In fact, the entire school - all the classrooms - are collecting items, including rosaries, pencils, pencil sharpeners, pens and envelopes.