Students help Japan, one bag of popcorn at a time

Students at Matheia School (2205 NW 67th St) invite the public to help them raise money for the Red Cross Japan and Tsunami Relief Fund.

This afternoon at 3:30 p.m., they will be selling popcorn for $1 a bag. This is their third popcorn sale fundraiser and so far they’ve raised $280, Matheia dad Doug Durbin tells us.

The idea was launched by a group of students who are part of the Matheia Peer Advocates Program, Durbin tells us. “The Peer Advocates Program empowers students to take on projects that serve the greater community,” Durbin says. “In this case, the students saw the hardships the Japanese people were enduring and wanted to do help out. So, they took the initiative to organize the popcorn sales to raise money for this great cause.

The Red Cross was selected as the charity to benefit from the popcorn says because the organization already has a presence in Japan, which was important to the students. “Additionally, the Red Cross has proven to be adept at efficiently using contributions to help those in need,” Durbin says.