Ohio fifth-grader collects peanut butter for Haitians

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

A fifth-grader in Ohio has collected 276 jars of peanut butter to donate to people in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

Colton McClure, 11, of Orient, organized a collection drive after three Haitian children came to his 4-H meeting in August, The Columbus Dispatch reported Sunday.

Colton said he picked the nutty spread because it’s tasty and easy to ship.

“All I knew was that it is brown, good and didn’t need refrigerated,” he told The Dispatch. The peanut butter will be shipped to Haiti in January.

He stacked the jars in his parents’ dining room. Now, he’s talking about doing another service project. “I don’t think I’ll have peanut butter for a while,” he said.

Lori Conley, who works with a mission group called Waves of Mercy, told The Dispatch that peanut butter provides Haitians with protein, which can be in short supply when meat is scarce.

“There are still refugees,” Conley said. “They’re still hungry.”

Her sister adopted the three Haitian girls that Colton saw back in August. They live in Haiti but were visiting Ohio.

Now, months after the Jan. 12 earthquake, Haiti still needs help, she said.