West students donate to Hurricane Harvey relief effort

Students at Vestavia Hills Elementary West worked hard the last week — but not just at their school work.

After Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast as a Category 4, causing not only storm damage but devastating flooding throughout Southeast Texas, West Principal Kim Hauser said the school wanted to do something to help.

With 800 students and 100 adult faculty and staff, Hauser said the school decided to set a goal of raising $1,000.

But at West, where social and emotional growth are just as important as academic, Hauser said she wasn't surprised they surpassed the goal.

"They just took it and ran with it," Hauser said.

On Friday, West presented the Alabama Chapter of the American Red Cross with $2,530.

Students were encouraged to do chores, hold lemonade stands or do any kind of extra work to raise their donations, as Hauser said teachers wanted the process to be more about getting the students involved with civic engagement than just bringing in a few dollars from mom and dad.

Chapter CEO Mark Beddingfield accepted the funds on behalf of the Red Cross, and answered questions students had about hurricanes and what the Red Cross does.

"This is huge," he said of the donations.

Beddingfield said that the funds raised by West will go directly to Harvey victims, as the Red Cross takes monies donated to a specific disaster and applies them to the specific need either in the form of comfort materials or monetary support.

The amount donated by West could help up to four full families rebuild their lives, Beddingfield said.

"It goes a long way," he said.