Our PTO along with the staff decided last night to do a change drive to help the families of the firefighters/police officers who lost their lives in the devastation.

A parent has decorated a huge water bottle with the American flag. We will be sending home a letter to each parent explaining what we are doing. Each student who brings in change will receive a small ribbon that parents have volunteered to make. We will end the drive at our POTLUCK dinner that we hold in October. Our PTO is also donating $1.00 for each of our 450 students.

Our group really feels that although we are not close to the devastation even the youngest of the children have been touched by the tragedy and need a way to feel as if they are helping and we hope that they can find this effort comforting. We annually hold walk-a-thon's and donate the money to charity, last year we walked for the Shriner's and raised quite a bit of money. We are very proud of the kid's and their families who have such generous hearts and spirits, I for one feel that the kid's are learning much more than the basics at school they are learning to be compassionate caring people who'll grow up to be a great generation!

My PTO is not doing it but our school is. I know that it was listed earlier, but thought I would list ours also.

The school is doing a dime drive. It will be going on from now until our Carnival in October. It started Friday and the kids really like bringing in lose change that is laying around the house. The money will be donated to the Red Cross and will go directly to the help the families in New York.

Thank you all for some great ideas! I did in fact try to set up a blood drive with our local Red Cross, but they said they have been so swamped since the attacks that they just can't spare anyone at this time, but we will try to do it in the future. The attacks happened the day we were supposed to have our first meeting. Naturally, I cancelled it. It's been rescheduled for this Tuesday. I'm going to approach my PTO group for ideas. A few I've already heard are having a car wash or bake sale. Another thing I've thought of, but of course this will be up to a vote of our group, is donating half of our membership dues to the Red Cross. Since our dues are only $1 per year, it wouldn't be a LOT of money, but it would be something. Thanks again for all the ideas, if you can think of something else let me know!

I am the PTA President at an elementary school and we hav echoosen to do a peent drive. In each class we have a jug and the kids were asked to donate aany loose pennies that they may have around. We did this last year as a way to raise money for beautification fof the grounds and raised appro.$500. Hopefully the parents will be just as generous in this time of need

I don't know how fast you could plan this but a blood drive could be done by a pto. we have been planning one for this school year anyhow. we are doing the blood drive the same day the red cross is coming in to teach cpr and first aid.

I saw on the news here in Cleveland that a school in Willoughby Hills had designed a t-shirt that had a "helping hand" on it and the New York skyline and a saying like "we will prevail" or something. They are selling the t's for $10.00 each, with $5.00 of that going to the red cross relief fund. It has given the students an opportunity to be part of it. The kids all seem to want to help. This is an easy way.
You could sell little American flags $.38 for $1.00. For the students it is not so much how much you raise but giving them an opportunity to "DO SOMETHING". If it makes their hearts a little lighter then it is worth it.