Kentridge kids raise nearly $10,000 for Haiti – in less than two minutes

The plan was simple: At the start of third period on Jan. 22, members of the Kentridge High School Leadership class would collect money from their classmates in an envelope, which would then be run down to the cashier’s office, all within two minutes.

The money all would be counted and donated to the American Red Cross to go toward Haiti earthquake-relief efforts.

The hope was that the students of Kentridge could raise $2,000 for the people of Haiti, a number that translates to a little less than $1 per student.

During the morning bulletin, the call came: “On your mark, get set, go!”

With that, the students began to give what they could.

And while the idea was simple, the results were extraordinary.

As the money started to come in, it became obvious that Kentridge had exceeded its goal. By a lot.

“We knew by 10:30 we collected over $6,000 in those two minutes,” said assistant principal and leadership class teacher Eric Anderson, who helped count the money. “Literally it looked like a casino.”

When all was said and done, the students of Kentridge had raised $9,442.93.

“This was a phenomenal thing that happened,” Anderson said.

Anderson said the idea for the two-minute drill came in two parts. First, in preparation for this past weekend’s Les Schwab shoot-out at the ShoWare Center, Kentridge was locked in an annual charity fundraising battle with rival Kentwood in which each school tries to out-raise the other.

Anderson also had read about the two-minute collection in a journal and thought it would be a good way to raise some extra money. During the week, the leadership clubs were passing around jugs at lunch to collect money, but decided to try the two-minute collection as a fun way to raise more.

And raise they did.

The total money is reflected in the links of each school’s “spirit chain,” with each paper link representing a $0.25 donation. The school with the longest chain at the shootout wins.

This year, Kentridge’s chain includes 4,000 links, representing one-10th of the total length for all the money collected, primarily through the two-minute drill.

“Nobody had any idea it would be this successful,” Anderson said. “It was overwhelming.”

Originally, the school was collecting money for the district’s food and clothing bank, but after the earthquake, the students changed their focus.

“Then the Haiti disaster happened and we decided we had to raise money for that,” said senior Avery McGinnis, 18, adding “we were hoping to get $5,000 total.”

McGinnis said she was “shocked and surprised” when the money started rolling in.

“It was really cool to see the generosity of everyone at the school,” she said.

According to Anderson, the money didn’t come in just in change, but in stacks of bills – including $50s and $100s – and a pile of checks as well. Some teachers even matched their class totals.

Anderson said the school collected $1,400 in just $20 bills and collected enough coins to use as a math story problem for the school.

“We had 50 pounds in coins,” he said, before revealing the answer about how much money that is. “That’s $497.”

Anderson said the teachers and students counted all of the checks and paper money and took the coins to Coinstar, with one of the teachers agreeing to pay for whatever Coinstar’s percentage of the money would be, ensuring nothing would be taken away from the total.

“We were actually surprised at turned out as great as it did,” said junior Cassie, 17 (last name withheld at request). Cassie said she was involved in making posters and helped in the counting, which took much of the day.

But while the amount came as a surprise to many, the generosity of the student body did not.

“Kentridge is a good school and I knew we could reach a large amount of money,” said senior Kelsey Yokoyama, 17, who helped put together the school’s chain.

Yokoyama also said that the money shows that despite what people say about teenagers, they are responsible citizens.

KR Principal Mike Albrecht said he was “amazed” at the total, but “not surprised.”

“Every single time our kids have been asked to step up – whether it’s been a world disaster or local needs – it’s amazing how giving they are,” he said, recalling similar collections following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Albrecht said the total reflects the whole of the Kentridge community, not just students, because of the size of checks and cash donation coming in.

Albrecht said giving back was part of the “KR Way” taught in the school, an idea that reinforces good character, citizenship, integrity, caring and respect.

“Not only are you a citizen at Kentridge and a citizen Kent, but we’re part of a global community now,” Albrecht said.

McGinnis agreed.

“I think it shows (KR students) are really giving and really aware of what’s going on around them in the world,” she said. “In times of need and when it comes down to it … our community is willing to give back.”