By: Ashton Dedona ’17

Staples English teacher Mrs. Neary and her students thought of a way to give back during this holiday season.

The students in Neary’s Caribbean Literature classes have been reading “Krik? Krak!” by Edwidge Danticat, a book of short stories about survival in Haiti, when Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti, a country the students have learned is already impoverished.

“After the hurricane hit, we came together as a class and thought the easiest way for us to contribute was to raise money,” Bailey Rizza ’17 said.

Neary explained that her students have been working together during class and have found an organization willing to take their donations and give them directly to those in need.

“We are partnering with another student run organization operating out of Vassar College,” Neary said. “They organized The Haiti Project and have been working there for many years.”

Once their mission statement was created, the students began planning after school bake sales, and even designed a logo for themselves. The students have created job positions for themselves in order to organize the funding process.

Chairman Nikki Benjamin ’17 has helped run three bake sales, raising over $400.

“Our overall goal for the semester is $1000,” Benjamin said.

The students have been working since the beginning of Nov. and will continue to raise money and awareness through the end of the holiday season.