Each penny counts in relief

Jeff Benson

Every penny counts when it comes to tsunami relief. Students at

Newport Coast Child Development Preschool are more sure of that than

they are about the spelling of the word “tsunami.”

Students as young as 2 have gotten into the giving spirit this

month, emptying their piggybanks and scrounging for nickels and dimes

beneath the couch cushions, so they can aid disaster victims.

Since Jan. 10, the Newport Beach school has raised $15,000, which

it plans to donate to national humanitarian organization Save the

Children for tsunami relief. The drive will continue through Friday.

Most of those donations came from parents teaching their children

about giving to the less fortunate, preschool director Jessica Emery

said.

The school’s 300 students all took home letters explaining the

drive to their parents, and some of the parents returned with checks

of more than $1,000.

“We were on Christmas break when the tsunami happened,” Emery

said. “Since families around here are so willing to give, I thought

they’d be a good resource. I was so willing to give, myself, that I

figured we could pull everyone together.”

Emery originally anticipated the school would raise “a couple

thousand dollars,” but she never anticipated the students would want

to help so much, and at such a young age.

Many of the tykes hit up Mom and Dad for cash, which they drop in

tubs placed in all seven classrooms and in the school’s office.

Kelly Kobayashi, 5, said she asked her mom for change from her

car. “They need some more toys like Shreks and paintbrushes and paper

and a new computer,” Kelly said.

“Mommy gave me some money, and I put it in the jar of money.”

Other children wanted to do it all on their own.

Evan Siegel, 5, is selling pictures of animals that he drew -- at

a modest quarter apiece -- and donating all the proceeds to the

classroom fund.

Justin Welling, 5, said he donated money “because people got hurt

by the tsunami, and some people got killed.”

He gave up everything in his piggybank except a half-dollar and a

prized gold coin his grandpa gave him. Emery said Justin’s first

contribution added up to about $50.

He added another $106 today from a lemonade stand he helped run

over the weekend. “They need my money, and I don’t care about my

money,” Justin said. “They want their school back.”