Students from Mr. Theriault’s and Ms. King’s grade 6 language arts classes at Eleanor W Graham Middle School had the opportunity to take part in an international fundraising activity this fall. They had learned about the poor living conditions and lack of access to clean drinking water in countries like Haiti and they wanted to help. Through their studies, the classes discovered that for $115 they could purchase a water purification tank that would provide a continuous source of clean drinking water for a whole family in Haiti. At that point,   they came up with a great idea.  Using their school netbook computers, they would produce original bookmarks reviewing their favorite novels and sell them for $2.00 a piece.  Bookmarks were created and permission was granted to set up a table at the Rexton Elementary School’s annual craft fair, where the students’ hard work, their selfless cause and their colorful bookmarks were well received by the patrons of the fair. By noon, the students had raised over $160 towards their goal! On November 28, the class presented a cheque to Pam Harrison, a member of the Rotary Club from River Hibbert, Nova Scotia. She will be sending the water filter purchased by the students to a village in Haiti, where it will installed in a family home. The students were very excited to meet Mrs. Harrison and to learn about how these filters function. They were also thrilled to experience first hand the results of their hard work. But the story doesn’t end there.  When a local church in River Hibbert heard about the student’s efforts, they agreed to “top up” their donation so that two purification tanks could be purchased in the name of students from EWG.  In addition, after hearing about what their friends in middle school were doing, the students at Rexton Elementary decided to pitch in as well and launch their own fundraiser in support of water purification efforts in Haiti. Sometimes life’s finest lessons can  be learned from small acts of kindness and generosity, and these are even sweeter when they can be shared with our community.  If there is a moral to this story, it is this – give! It’s contagious. By G. Theriault