Staff Writer

The Coppell Fire Department prides itself on its dedication to improving the community, and one of the ways it does so is by embarking on ambitious fundraisers.

On Thursday May 26 and Friday May 27 the Coppell Fire Department will  have firefighters positioned by numerous Coppell intersections to fill boots full of donations, as part of the nation-wide Fill-the-Boot Campaign.

This annual fundraiser benefits the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), a benevolent organization that treats and researches dozens of forms of muscle disease, and provides support groups and summer camps for families.

The firefighters and their boots will be collecting donations, on the two aforementioned days, at the intersections of Belt Line and MacArthur, Sandy Lake and Denton Tap, and Bethel Road and Royal Lane.

Coppell‘s participation in the Fill-the-Boot Campaign is just one small piece of the long-standing tradition of involvement Texas fire departments have with the MDA.

Last year’s Campaign was a huge success as $27 million was collected from departments across the nation, with $3.1 million coming from Texas alone.

This year’s boot-filling efforts will culminate with the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon on September 5.

Over the break, Japan was devastated by a 8.9 earthquake and tsunami in the Sendai area. Since the event, Japan has felt the effects all over its country, as far as Tokyo: lost power, destroyed homes and the fragile state of a nuclear power plant are only a few of the horrors the Japanese are currently facing.

Even though we are separated by an ocean, we can help. The Red Cross is currently taking donations on their website or through text messages (text “REDCROSS” to 90999 to donate $10). Yahoo! has compiled a list of other donation centers to check out, as well.

In addition to these efforts, I am officially challenging you to start your own relief efforts. Be creative – you can help save hundreds.

Video coming soon

The Coppell Community Gardens is one of Coppell’s most beautiful and unknown assets, up-kept by the few dozen of dedicated volunteers who wake each Saturday morning to prepare the fruits of their labor for pick-up by the Metrocrest Foodbank.

Harvesting, weighing and bagging the produce, tilling soil, mulching, turning compost and fertilizing and watering plots only names a fraction of what it takes to create over 1,642 pounds of edible produce in one winter month.

Coppell has two of these volunteer-run gardens, the Helping Hands garden beside Town Center and the Ground Delivery garden beside the Post Office. Both offer a serene environment for those who pass through as well as for those, young and old, experienced and new, who tend to their plots.

Founded in 1998, the Gardens have since grown to be an integral part of the community, providing a hobby, knowledge and service opportunity for students all community members and even volunteers from surrounding neighborhoods.

“We enjoy watching things grow,” garden leader Julia Daly said. “It’s a secret thrill watching things grow from a seed, and I really like the idea of being able to help someone else in a way that’s enjoyable to me, doing something productive, with my own hands versus giving money to a charity.”

Daly and her husband, Pat Daly, have been regulars at the Ground Delivery since 2003, when they were inspired to join after having seen they garden from their home. The Dalys are the prime example of a family who found personal benefits in this hobby while helping others.

“The gardens teach us to respect the environment and each other,” Julia said. “They provide nutritious options for those that may not have that opportunity due to their financial constraints. In Coppell, it’s a good way for our neighbors to get together and have more sense of community.”

Coppell High School students have also experienced the relaxing and philanthropic nature of the garden. Senior Anna Samczuk began volunteering after her brother suggested it as a way to get back in touch with herself and meet new people.

“I was always a shy person, and I needed a way to put myself outside of my comfort zone,” Samczuk said. “It provides relaxation for me and I’ve realized the importance of cultivating nature and helping others.”

Coppellians visit the Gardens for an escape from busy lives. The physical labor the plots require helps to relieve stresses and tensions, and the quiet atmosphere provides the ideal environment for meditation while tending to plants.

“It’s not a stressful place,” Samczuk said. Sometimes it seems like I’m not in Coppell, like it’s another bubble. Though getting dirt under your nails isn’t therapeutic, hard work there is mentally therapeutic. It’s just something good to be a part of.”

Other students at Coppell High School have found ways to volunteer at the Gardens through clubs such as Interact Club.

“As a community service project, we went during the summer months,” senior Interact treasurer Uzomaka Onyejiaka said. “We carried large amounts of compost and shoveled it into wheelbarrows – moving the soil was really hard, so it was a difficult job. But it was fun, and we knew it wasn’t a waste of time because we knew we were doing a good service.”

Whether you’re looking for a place to relax, get dirty or just get more involved with the community, Coppell’s Community Gardens will provide. For more information on the Gardens, visit coppellcommunitygarden.org.

Every Thanksgiving break, as we stuff ourselves with pie and stuffing, we forget that there are multitudes of people, even in our own community, that endure empty stomachs on Thanksgiving.

Now, Coppell ISD is doing something about it. This Friday, November 19, Coppell ISD is once again participating in the annual Kids 4 Turkeys turkey drive. Students or parents can drop frozen turkeys off at any CISD school from 7:30-9:00 tomorrow morning.

Here at CHS, there will be people collecting turkeys at both the student parking lot and the parent loop. All of the turkeys will be donated to the North Texas Food Bank in Dallas. NTFB will then provide turkeys to disadvantaged families and individuals in the area.

The turkey drive is a great opportunity to make a difference in somebody’s life. Many people have lost their jobs and can’t afford a Thanksgiving meal for their family-but just one turkey donated could change that.

“It is important to donate food because not everyone is as privileged as they want to be and it’s good to just help people out”i think it is important because not everyone is a privileged as they want to be and it’s good to just help someone out Sophomore Daniel Lu said.

According to Shelly Redding, a coordinator of the turkey drive, Coppell High School’s goal is to raise a total of no less than 600 turkeys. With nearly 3000 students, CHS could easily reach that goal-and change hundreds of lives.

The turkey drive has been extremely successful in years past, and hopefully this year will be no different.

Mr. Hunt rides a turkey in support of the Turkey Drive taking place at Coppell High School on Friday, November 19. Photo courtesy of Carol Green.

“The turkey drive has been a success [in previous years] because this is a very giving community. We always want to give and help others” Redding said.

If the generosity continues on Friday morning, not only will CHS impact hundreds of lives, but students and faculty alike have the chance to win rewards. These rewards were announced in SPUR class one week ago.

If the total turkey count exceeds 150, the school will have a pajama day. If it exceeds 300, there will be an official “No Homework Day.” In the event that over 500 turkeys are donated, Mr. Hunt will dress up as a turkey and greet students in the parking lot before school!

The idea is that the competitions will increase the desire for a student to go out and buy a turkey to donate to Kids 4 Turkeys.

In addition to the aforementioned rewards, there is also a wide variety of other prizes offered to individual groups, including faculty, that go above and beyond to raise turkeys.

“Well, kids love to compete, so we are hoping that’s an incentive for students to bring turkeys” Redding said.

If you cannot bring a turkey to school Friday, but still wish to make a difference, you can donate to the North Texas Food Bank on their website. The money will still go towards providing food for the needy but will not count for the school competitions.So as Kids 4 Turkeys’ slogan states, “bring a frozen turkey to any school in the Coppell Independent School District so hungry North Texans can enjoy a holiday dinner-just like you!”

People around the world face suffering each day. Sometimes it takes a natural disaster to put the harsh realities of the lives of some into perspective for us. While the earthquake that devastated Haiti on Jan. 12 dispersed Haitian families, the disaster united foreign peoples under a common effort for relief aid. Do your part to help relieve Haitian families in need, whether it be through prayer, a tax-deductible monetary donation or enjoying the delicious home-baked desserts the Red Cross club was selling after school this week.

While on-line:
Donate any amount of money to World Vision, a foundation with 30 years of experience in Haiti, to help provide food, medicine and family survival kits including everything from clean water, blankets and tents to cooking supplies.

Or, to make sure your donation goes toward a specific relief need:
-PUR water packets-a $20 donation will provide 100 days of water for a Haitian family in need
-Food, health care and agricultural support
-emergency delivery of goods -your donation will help rush collapsible water containers, hygiene kits, cooking sets, blankets and tarpaulins for temporary shelter
-or, a monthly gift that will go towards helping affected children in Haiti by providing long-term relief, blankets, food and shelter for orphans and other children

Give a tax-deductable donation to Samaritan’s Purse Project.

While at the store:
Grab:

and a one gallon plastic bag to create a health kit for Haiti. All the above items, sealed in the plastic bag, can be returned to the nurse’s office at CHS for UMCOR (United Methodist Committee On Relief).

At school:
Bring your health kit for Haiti, for one. Secondly, don’t miss out on CHS’s Heritage Day tonight, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. Admission costs one dollar -a donation that will help fund Haiti’s situation. Festivies will include cultural dances, food, comedy and sale of JWAC club’s shirts for Haiti. These beautifully designed T-shirts will be for sale one for $15 or all three shirts for $35.

More ways to help Haiti.

For updates on the situation in Haiti.

Learn more about the country Haiti.

Further, check facebook for groups you can join that will automatically donate with each click.

Staff Writer

A man prays outside of the Public Hospital in Jimani, Dominican Republic, as Haitian evacuees of the earthquake receive treatment at the facility, Thursday, January 21, 2010. (David Swanson/Philadelphia Inquirer/MCT)

On Jan. 12 at 4:53 pm an earthquake devastated Haiti, hitting with a magnitude of 7.0 at the epicenter, the USGS called it the strongest earthquake in the area since 1770. The earthquake hit 10 miles west of Porte-au-Prince and its 2 million inhabitants, leaving 3 million in need of emergency care.

Since as early as hours after the earthquake, charity organizations have been pulling together new projects and creating new funds to help those devastated by the disaster. The following include some of the most popular groups that have begun to establish ways to provide relief to the Haitians.

UNICEF is currently operating in over 150 countries, providing children with clean water, healthcare, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The United Stated Fund for UNICEF supports the work of the organization through advertising and advocacy. Right now UNICEF is accepting tax-deductable donations to help the children affected by the earthquake. 100% of every dollar will go directly towards helping the country’s youngest population.

 George Clooney and Wyclef Jean will be hosting a “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon tonight in conjunction with MTV. More information available here on coppellstudentmedia.com.

Google crisis response will be providing $1 million to help organizations provide relief. A list of organizations Google will be supporting can be found here. Also, donations can be made to the Google supported organizations linking to the same webpage.

Doing a simple Google search with key words ‘help Haiti’ or ‘how to help Haiti’ will bring up hundreds of results of organizations and charities that are participating across the globe. Similar to the efforts to help victims of the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 and Hurricane Katrina of 2005, the world joins together to provide relief. Get involved.