By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Moved by the devastation caused by last month’s earthquake in Haiti, middle school students at LaPlace Elementary came together last Friday evening to organize a party for a cause.

More than 150 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students donated time, energy and money for a fundraising dance to benefit a Haitian restaurant that survived the quake’s wrath and is now serving food to the masses.

“It all really started as a goods drive to collect food clothing and essentials to send overseas,” said Grant Hiatt, a sixth-grade teacher at LaPlace Elementary. “When we learned that the Red Cross wasn’t taking anymore donations (of goods), we switched gears and turned our attention to raising money.”

Hiatt said as he, fellow teacher Jasmine Green, and several sixth-grade students were brainstorming ways to drum up funds, he came across a National Public Radio story about Haitian entrepreneur Gilbert Bailly and his upscale pizza restaurant Muncheez, which survived the quake unscathed.

“When Mr. Bailey found that his establishment was still standing and that he still had food and power, he began cooking and giving away free food to anyone who came,” Hiatt said. “While international aid groups were still trying to get organized, Mr. Bailey was feeding a thousand people per day.”

With the cause firmly established, the students then began making plans for the dance party.

Hiatt said each student began contributing according to his or her own individual skills and ability.

In just two weeks time, Hiatt said the students organized a snack sale, created and sold tickets, secured contributions for refreshments, purchased party favors, hired security and acquired an appropriate location.

“One outstanding contribution was made by sixth-grader Eddie Darr,” Hiatt said. “He managed to set up an eight-speaker surround system by himself while other sixth-graders stripped the wires and ran them to the speakers. He came across one error that he was able to troubleshoot all on his own. It was fantastic.”

Although the dance did not reach its initial goal of 400, Hiatt said the students were able to attract about 150 kids, who spent about three hours dancing, limbo-ing and second lining.

Hiatt said tickets to the dance were sold at $5, and refreshments, party favors and glow sticks were also sold throughout the night. When all was said and done, Hiatt said the final fundraising tally came to $1,511.

According to Hiatt’s research, bulk, short-grain rice can sell for $35 per hundredweight on the international market. Each 100-pound bag of rice contains 250 cups, and a standard emergency ration is one-half cup of uncooked rice per adult.

“According to these numbers, the LaPlace Middle School Tigers fed the survivors 21,585 meals,” Hiatt said. “Not bad for a group of kids who aren’t even old enough to drive.”