School inspires Haitian to action

February 28, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

SHARON, Pa. (AP) — In less than a month, students at Case Avenue Elementary raised $10,200 to help earthquake survivors in Haiti and spurred to action a Sharon resident who grew up on the island.

The “Hearts Out to Haiti” campaign moved Haitian Joseph Altenor of Sharon so much he felt the need to thank the kids and share his culture.

“What they have done here, the children — it touched my heart,” Altenor said during a visit to classrooms at the school.

“No one forced them to do what they’ve done,” Altenor said. “Imagine the world will be a better place 20 years from now because of these children.”

Altenor said the children’s generosity inspired him to start a nonprofit to help people back home.

“They woke me up,” he said of the Case project, adding that it’s easy to get caught up in the details of one’s own life. “This is something I should’ve done a long time ago.”

Altenor is operations manager at Sharpsville Container and moved to Sharon in 1989 after living in Florida and New York. He said he came to the United States as a student and now has children of his own attending Sharon schools.

“This is the greatest country in the world, in my opinion,” Altenor said.

Altenor took part in a celebration Feb. 10 at Case and said he was amazed by the packed gym, where kids waved Haitian flags and showed off the lanterns they’d made for the nearly 40 local businesses that donated money. Funds raised were donated to the American Red Cross’ Haiti relief effort.

Because he was nervous that day, Altenor said he wanted to come back and talk more to the students.

Altenor taught the kids some Creole — a mix of English, French and Spanish spoken in Haiti — and told them about life on the island.

No matter how well off you are, Altenor said growing up in Haiti was hard even before the massive earthquake hit last month, killing or injuring hundreds of thousands and leaving many who survived homeless.

Altenor has 17 family members living in Port-au-Prince and they’re all fine, he said. However, they lost their homes and are living in tents.

He said people still haven’t gone inside the homes that are standing because they’re afraid they could collapse at any time.

Family members call him often looking for help with clothes and other things, he said; items that are available on the island are very expensive because some people have taken advantage of the situation.

“It was always a disaster,” Altenor said of living conditions, which have worsened greatly since the earthquake.

“It’s not a sight for you children to see,” he told students when they asked about it.

The goal had been for each class to raise $100 by the 100th day of school, Principal Traci Valentino said, and they surpassed that target.

In addition to selling paper hearts, children came up with money for the endeavor in a number of ways, Valentino said. Some shoveled snow for donations, some raided their own piggy banks and many gave up ice cream and other treats from the school store and donated to the cause the money they would have spent.

What makes the fundraising even more impressive, Valentino noted, is that more than half the school’s students are living below the poverty line themselves.

“It was more emotional than I thought it would be,” Valentino said of seeing the kids pour their hearts into the effort.

Valentino said Chris Wright of Covenant Presbyterian Church, Sharon, has traveled to Haiti and in recent weeks he shared with the children what life there is like.

She said seeing how the Haitian children live really hit home for the Sharon kids.

“I thought it was good because the collected money that went to Haiti actually helped them eat and get clothes,” third-grader Nick Wiesen said.

His classmate Madisyn Berkson said the campaign was fun because they knew the Haitians really needed help. Davon Mays said they learned about the earthquake and he felt bad for the people who live there.

Altenor and his wife, Lesley, who is from England, have two daughters, 16-year-old Marietta and 12-year-old Savannah, and also take care of his nephew, Steven, who is 6.

The family is trying to organize donations of clothes and other items to send to Haiti. Altenor said the only way items can be sent to the country is if they’re from an organization recognized by the Haitian government.

Altenor said he’d like to help out more in the countryside, as the focus has mostly been on the city of Port-au-Prince.