By Margot Susca
Staff Writer
Fort Pierce Tribune, Florida
June 22, 2005

Maybe it's because they, too, had lived through Mother Nature's wrath and fury.

Or, maybe it was the centralized push from St. Lucie County Schools Superintendent Michael Lannon to make a difference for tsunami victims half a world away.

Whatever the reason, international relief organization Save the Children said St. Lucie County's tsunami fundraising efforts placed it fifth in the country for dollars raised among school systems.

In the month after the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami devastated countries - killing more than 176,000 - around the Pacific Rim, St. Lucie County schools raised $35,938.

That puts the 35,000-student district behind four others including Los Angeles Unified School District, a California district of almost 750,000 that raised $49,731.

It might not tell the whole story about generosity in hallways, classrooms and cafeterias here: More than $76,000 was raised.

While the amount raised for Save the Children garnered national headlines, students in the local Youth Leadership Council pledged the remainder to New York City-based Action Against Hunger.

Hayley Snedeker, a council member, had a voice in choosing those two charities.

Told about the honor given to St. Lucie County schools near the six-month anniversary of the disaster, Snedeker, 18, was pleased efforts like collecting left over lunch money at Fort Pierce Westwood High's cafeteria paid off.

"It's incredible," Snedeker said. "Each month, we get a little report about how the people are doing. It's really cool."

Children from 3,000 schools nationwide raised more than $4.7 million for Save the Children's tsunami recovery efforts, according to an agency news release.