Some students acted on their own. Harry Kendall, a fifth-grader at Simonds Elementary School, collected $100 in donations from his neighbors for disaster relief in flood-ravaged New Orleans. Encouraged by this response, he got permission from the local Safeway to collect more donations in front of the store. Aided by his Boy Scout troop--including Simonds students Michael Kirkley, Chad Goodman, Andrew Oberhelman and Alex Popoff--Harry raised more than $4,000 to send to the Red Cross.

At Graystone Elementary School, a Sept. 13 "Bake and Take" raised almost $3,400. Graystone's Home & School Club encouraged parents to bring baked goods to Back to School night, then make a donation to hurricane relief in exchange for a treat. The Home & School Club matched the first $499 donated.

Families at Williams Elementary School also pitched in. Each morning from Sept. 5-13, students brought a five-gallon jug out onto the playground to collect donations during the flag salute. Williams' "Change a Life" campaign ultimately brought in more than $800, much of it in coins.

"When the jug was only half-full, it was so heavy that they had to wheel it out on a cart," says teacher Tracy Cressio, who helped spearhead the fundraiser.

Students brought the money jug to Safeway to sort the change in the store's Coinstar machine. Store manager Jason Criuello waived the 9-percent surcharge normally associated with using the machine.

At Williams' Back to School night on Sept. 13, parents donated another $725. All monies raised at Williams are designated for Red Cross disaster-relief efforts.

Williams' fundraiser may have ended, but a group of parents has found another way to aid Katrina's victims. They've begun a book drive on campus to help ensure that children displaced by the hurricane continue their education.

"They might not be going to school, but at least they can read," Cressio says.

Parent organizer Trupti Mehta says the goal of "Operation Buy a Book, Give a Book" is to collect 1,000 new or gently used books, which will be shipped to shelters in Houston where hurricane victims are housed.

Organizers are asking students to donate two books apiece. The first week of the book drive coincided with Williams' Scholastic Book Fair, which ended Sept. 16. Scholastic agreed to donate a book for each one purchased at the fair and then given to the drive. More than 800 books were dontated by the end of the first week.

Williams is continuing its book drive through Sept. 30, and Mehta says community members can drop off donations at any of the bins located in the open areas of campus.

Mehta says the book drive gives students and their families a tangible way to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

"They've been reading the news, and they see that [disaster relief] is a bigger problem than anyone expected," she adds. "The book drive is something they can do to make a commitment."

First-graders at Graystone are making a commitment to children housed in shelters in Alabama by putting together care packages containing crayons, paper, small toys and activities to help young hurricane victims stave off boredom as they wait to return to permanent housing.

"School's not starting right away for them, and they've lost all their possessions," first-grade teacher Elizabeth McVey says. "This is something to keep their mind off the disaster and to bring a smile to their faces. It's a good opportunity to teach our students about helping others."

Graystone's 140 first-graders are working assembly-line fashion to put the care packages together and will pen notes to the children who receive them. Their parents donated money to buy the items included in the packages.

McVey says the idea for the care packages came from one of her students.

"He'd been listening to what's happening on the radio and told his mom he wanted to help," the teacher says.

Williams Elementary School is located at 1150 Rajkovich Way. For more information about "Operation Buy a Book, Give a Book," call the school office at 408.535.6196.

California PTAs aid hurricane victims

Parent Teacher Associations across California are stepping up to help PTAs in southern states battered by Hurricane Katrina. The 6th District PTA, which includes the San Jose Unified School District, is working on hurricane relief in a variety of ways.

Schools can adopt a PTA at schools in Texas or Louisiana that have evacuated families to accommodate. For more information, contact Diane Foote, 6th district president, at dfootepta@yahoo.com.

Local PTAs can contribute to their sister organizations in Texas or Louisiana by sending checks to: Texas PTA, 408 West 11th Street, Austin, TX 78701; or Louisiana PTA, 1543 Del Plaza, Suite 13, Baton Rouge, LA 70815,

Private donations to the Texas or Louisiana State PTAs can be made via credit card at www.txpta.org or www.lapta.org.

PTAs can also donate to other nonprofits, such as the Red Cross.