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Across the U.S., Young Americans Raise Money for Relief Written by Christina Ward, Staff Writer, RedCross.org

A disaster as visible and shocking as the September 11 terrorist attacks could not escape the eyes and ears of young Americans. The chaos, confusion and 24-hour news coverage affected everyone, even those seemingly too young to comprehend the scope of the tragedy. As much as the adults around them, many children felt compelled to do something — to somehow become a part of the national response. In the days following the attacks, thousands of teenagers and children came forward to help, in hundreds of different ways. Children across the country organized fundraisers of all kinds — from car washes to bake sales to lemonade stands. Many children dropped off thank-you letters and cards at their local Red Cross chapters. Relief volunteers posted the crayon-and-construction-paper messages at the Pentagon and World Trade Center disaster sites, where emergency workers could get an encouraging dose of youthful praise during a water or food break. Other young people joined the nationwide fundraising effort.

Within a day of the disaster, children began arriving at their local Red Cross chapters with handfuls of coins and cash. Some brought the profits from money-making enterprises they'd organized to support the Red Cross. Creative and determined, these young entrepreneurs had come up with fundraising methods as varied as the kids themselves. In Manhattan… The New York City chapter of the Red Cross set up a donation booth outside its Manhattan offices, alongside an information booth and a blood donation booth. In the days following the attack, all three tables were swamped with crowds of New Yorkers wanting to help. John DeCristoforo, in charge of fundraising at the New York chapter, said he'll never forget one of the first visitors to his donation booth. "A 4-year-old girl walked up and opened her Pokemon backpack. She pulled out a matching Pokemon wallet, which she unzipped and dumped on the table," DeCristoforo recalled. "She donated $4.37 in quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies to the disaster relief fund.

We saw many young people make sacrifices like this, but that little girl was one of the first, and one of the youngest." A group of high school students from Trinity School in Manhattan were also among the first to arrive with money for the Red Cross relief fund, DeCristoforo said. The teens set up a donation table outside their school — just blocks from the World Trade Center disaster site — and within hours, they had $1,000 in cash and $100 in coins.

Davenport Elementary School in eastern Washington state was one of many schools that organized fundraisers to support the Red Cross relief fund in the wake of the attacks. DeCristoforo's bank of stories is unlimited. "There was also the 7-year-old boy who broke open his piggy bank at home, the day after the attacks. He hand-rolled all the change himself, and brought it down to the chapter. His total donation came to $163.50," DeCristoforo said. … in Washington, D.C….

Similarly, Red Cross workers at the Pentagon disaster site have no shortage of stories. One group of children from Arlington, Va., set up a lemonade stand on their street the first weekend after the attack. Under an American flag and a Red Cross sign, the 9- to 14-year-olds sold lemonade, baked goods and dog biscuits to passers-by. Many residents offered to pay a little more than the prices listed, it seems. "The kids arrived on Monday afternoon at the Pentagon disaster headquarters [set up near the Arlington Red Cross chapter] with $1,140.20," said Michael Spencer, a Red Cross disaster volunteer. "The cash was stuffed into a Folgers coffee can." The 11 children were tired and sunburned from hours of sidewalk selling, he said, but they all broke out in grins as Red Cross volunteers clapped and cheered. "Everyone wants to help. Young people like this are our heroes, too," Spencer said. Some children couldn't get to a D.C.-area chapter in person, and they sent their contributions by mail.

On September 12, just one day after the terrorist attacks, the following letter arrived at American Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C.:

Dear American Red Cross: My name is Katie Mesmer and I am in the 6th grade in Ashburn, Va. We had today off from school because of the attack on the United States yesterday. Instead of sitting around feeling helpless, I decided to gather my friends and collect money for your relief effort. We went door to door for 10 hours and gathered $1,330.35. My friends that helped are Marc Mesmer, Caitrin Dwyer, Mackenzie Kelleher, Jon Meyer and Danielle Sandersen. I pray for America and hope what little we did helps. Thank you for being there in this terrible need.

Katie Musmer Seven-year-old Ryan Kessler from Indiana donated $20 to the American Red Cross. …and Across the Country From Maine to Texas to Alaska, students in classrooms approached their teachers with the same question that first dark week: "How can we help?" In eastern Washington state — three time zones away from the East Coast disaster sites — the efforts of one small elementary school illustrates the potential of energized young people. Students at Davenport Elementary in the tiny town of Davenport, Wash. (pop. 1,700), started a campaign many years ago to help out with Red Cross disaster relief. They resurrected the project after the September 11 attacks. Called "The Buck Starts Here," the campaign raised $600 for victims of the 1994 Northridge, Calif., earthquake, and $300 for victims 1999 Seattle earthquake, by simply asking people to donate a dollar a person. "'Buck' stands for 'responsibility,'" explained Karen Lyle, a fourth grade teacher at Davenport in charge of the campaign. "We all have the responsibility to help others in need. It starts here, with just one person and one dollar." They planned to collect for a week and then present the money — expected to be a few hundred dollars — to their local Red Cross chapter for the relief efforts. The school asked area residents, businesses and other schools to join in The Buck Starts Here campaign, collecting a dollar from anyone who would give. The response was immediate.

During the week after the attacks, Davenport Elementary held a school assembly to announce the results of the fundraising. In an event that reflected dozens of others at schools across the country, the teachers sang "The Star Spangled Banner," first-graders sang, "Grand Ole' Flag" and sixth-graders read essays on patriotism. "The assembly was fantastic," Lyle said. "We had red, white and blue balloons all over.

I thanked the students for being responsible and supporting our friends at the American Red Cross. Our final count? $1,327.81!"

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