Mountain View Christian School's principal Larry Arnott decided to use news images and stories from Haiti's recent earthquake as an compassion exercise. When he asked the students, ages 6-14, if they'd like to help, the answer was "Yes!"

They put donation containers into two of their churches, the Seventh-day Adventist Church and Eastern Hills Community Church, both in Sequim. The students created the containers, progress charts and advertising posters, and the results exceeded expectations: They raised $540.

Adventist Development and Relief Agency was chosen to distribute the money in Haiti.

Two of the 20 students wrote:

"I thought it was sad about Haiti and I wanted to be generous with my things and share." - John Cotter, 12.

"My first reaction was, are the people there OK? And my second reaction was, what do the towns look like after the earthquake?" - Sam Manders, 14.

Students were encouraged to do small jobs to earn money or to give of their allowances, making this a personal lesson in applying their Christianity to the world as well as showing compassion to strangers.