4th grader starts Haiti relief drive

When 10-year-old Hannah McLennan saw the first images of last week's earthquake in Haiti, she was moved to tears.

Then, almost immediately, she was moved to action.

“She asked a few questions and then the next thing we knew she was at the computer, typing up fliers,” said Hannah's mom, Annette McLennan, of Belle Plaine.

Hannah started a campaign - Help Hannah Help Haiti - to raise money for the American Red Cross for relief efforts in Haiti.

“I just couldn't watch it anymore because I was so sad,” said the fourth-grader at Central Elementary in Belle Plaine. “We were watching the news, and I told my mom I wanted to help Haiti.”

Hannah typed a letter that she took to local businesses, then made 11 collection canisters for donations.

In addition, she put up fliers at school asking classmates to help. Her teacher, she said, “gave me a hug and said she was really proud of me.”

Word of Hannah's project has spread quickly throughout her family and the Benton County community.

Annette McLennan said the canisters will stay out until the end of February, when Hannah will collect them all and turn them in for a certified check to go to the Red Cross.

“We're very, very proud,” Annette McLennan said. “We're proud of her for wanting to do this.”