Haiti effort commended

When we heard of third-grader Maddy O'Hara's efforts to help the people of earthquake ravaged Haiti, we were happy to tell her story.

O'Hara learned about the devastation caused by the earthquake in school and by watching the news. But rather than shaking her head in dismay, she thought about how she could help.

She first thought to collect clothing and blankets for displaced families, but was told the Red Cross could only collect monetary donations at the time. Undeterred, she decided to hold a bake sale to raise money to send.

Neither did she give up when local retailers refused to let her hold her bake sale at their stores. She found one in Elyria that would allow it, and recruited friends and neighbors to bake.

She sat at the bake sale table for four hours on a Saturday, no small sacrifice for a youngster like O'Hara. And she raised nearly $350 to send to help the people of Haiti -- people she only knew through pictures on the news.

This type of selfless dedication to a cause is to be commended. While $350 is but a drop in the bucket compared to the billions that will be require to rebuild that country, it is more than any other third-grader we know has raised.