West Hartford's Smith STEM School Raises More Than $1,600 For Nepal

In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Nepal on April 25th, students and faculty of Smith STEM School in West Hartford took immediate action on Monday to help aid the relief efforts by raising nearly $1,700.

Third grade teacher Cassandra Lane launched the “Nickels for Nepal” fundraiser after receiving an email from the parent of one of her students reminding Ms. Lane of how this news hits so close to home.

With many families in the Smith community having immigrated to Connecticut from the Kathmandu region, there are 5 students from Nepal in Lane’s class alone.

For two weeks students brought in money and recyclables, raising $1,645.97 which the student council voted to send the contributions to GlobalGiving, an organization that has a history of coordinating funds between international donors and local charities in areas affected by disasters.

“By creating Nickels for Nepal, the students felt like they were playing an important role in helping out their classmates,” Lane said. “My students were so aware of the devastation and the need for money to rebuild homes and to buy food and medicine that they started creating posters at home encouraging others to ‘bring change to make change!’”

Before long, students were donating the entire contents of their piggy banks anxious to help make a difference.

“I feel sad for all my friends’ family who don’t have a home or any toys,” first-grader Matthew Bonner, who spent days scouring the sofa cushions for coins to add to his contribution, said.

“Not only is this fundraiser helping the thousands of people affected in Nepal,” add Lane, “[but] it is helping us come together as a community and heal after a devastating event that is hard for elementary students to comprehend.”

Juan Melian, principal of Smith STEM School, feels that this fundraiser is especially helpful to those students who have family living in Nepal, who now have a way to express their feelings.

“This effort came from them, and is allowing them to support their homeland,” Melian said.

Nearly 400 students are coming together as a community with incredible generosity and kindness to help the families and friends of their classmates, as well as those who they will never know.