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Student raises funds for tsunami victims
SALEM
Lane Hardwick, a student at Salem High School, has sparked support to help the victims of the tsunami devastation in Japan.
The senior said of the devastation on March 11, “I saw so much, and my heart goes out to them.”
He wanted to help and turned to Robert Viencek, an English and theater instructor, for advice.
Hardwick and Viencek came up with a plan.
Their idea was to collect one dollar for every person in the city, which would raise $12,303.
“One dollar, one life,” Hardwick said.
Mayor Jerry Wolford issued a proclamation that next Saturday, April 9, will be, “The Japanese Relief Fund Day.”
The mayor said: “It’s a great idea for our youth to become involved in this very serious venture. Today, our young people need to become ‘givers’ rather than simply ‘takers.’”
And people have jumped in to help. Donations already are coming in.
Jill Rowe, the treasurer for the school district, said the district had created a special fund to collect donations. Donations can be dropped off at the district’s office. Donations are tax deductible.
An email was sent through the school district about the drive.
Lori Thayer, principal at Salem’s Reilly Elementary School, said the school had raised $250.09.
Thayer said, “We don’t know where the 9 cents came from.”
Southeast Elementary School also had a collection, but figures were not available.
People will be at seven locations in the city to collect funds. The sites have not been announced.
Harwick’s father, Dave, works at Home Depot, and his mother, Marlene, is a nurse.
Harwick plans to go to Youngstown State University in the fall, where he plans to major in criminal justice.