Pocket change adds up
7 Westside schools join in relief effort

       Like many schools on the Westside, Washington Elementary students talked about the disastrous impacts of Hurricane Katrina last month.
       One of those students was fifth-grader Bea Zimmerman. “A lot of us felt real bad,” she said. “So we talked to the principal.”
       That discussion with Terry Martinez - which started with a “basic plan,” as Bea put it, to raise money for the hurricane victims - led to “Change for Change,” a precedent-setting fund-raising effort that involved seven Westside schools in all. The total, $2,544.13, was handed over to Paul Aoch of the American Red Cross at a presentation ceremony Oct. 14 at Howbert Elementary.
       “You see a penny on the road, you think it won't buy much,” commented Martinez during the ceremony. “But when you add pennies up, they can turn out to be a lot.”
       Participating in the effort with Washington were Bristol, Buena Vista, Howbert, Midland, Pike, and Whittier. Each school brought their principals and a few student representatives to the Howbert ceremony.
       No one could remember a time when Westside schools have come together in such a way.
       “I think it turned out real well,” Bea Zimmerman said after the ceremony.
       Note: A separate Katrina fund-raising effort was carried out by Jackson Elementary, farther north on the Westside. The drive ended recently with a total of $30 in donations, plus 10 bags of clothing and shoes.

Westside Pioneer article