On February 24, Tutti Frutti was swarming with students. While numerous students enjoyed delicious frozen yogurt, five students were making sure that 15 percent of the money earned that day went toward a beneficial cause: Yele Haiti’s Yele Vert program.
Seniors Gregory Hoffman and Diana Davenport and juniors Monica Dyches, Ellora Sarkar and Rachel Lee have been participating in events like this since the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. They recently won the air and climate challenge (the first competition in the Lexus Eco Challenge) for their Terra cycle project.
The project was designed to help lower students’ carbon footprints by carpooling, bicycling, planting trees and implementing “Tray-less Tuesdays.”
“I’m really happy that our project won the air and climate competition,” Davenport said. “Were trying to expand out of the community and make the project global.”
That title comes with scholarship prize money and the opportunity to participate in the final round of the Lexus Eco Challenge.
With the guidance of their sponsor, Pamela Shlachtman, the students are now focusing on Haiti. A major problem there is charcoal production and lack of trees, so by raising money through out-of-school bake sales and events like the one at Tutti Frutti, they are hoping that they can make a difference.
“It feels really good to be able to help in any way that we can, and it made me really happy to see how successful the outcome of Tutti Frutti was,” Davenport said.
On March 8, another fundraiser was held at Sir Pizza. Each slice of pizza sold improved Yele Haiti’s chances of planting more trees in Haiti, growing vegetables for Haitian Orphanages and stopping soil erosion.
“We’re are striving to help others,” Dyches said. “I mean, if we’re going to spend a month working on a project, it should be worthwhile, it should be worth something to someone.”
The final challenge prizes consist of a $30,000 grand prize and four $15,000 prizes.
“We’ve worked really hard on this challenge,” Lee said. “I think our chances of winning are high but even if we don’t, at least we’ve helped people.”
