Convicted by the searing images of devastation caused by the recent earthquake in Haiti, high school senior Karl Bratt, a member of Racine (Wisc.) Christian Reformed Church, felt that he and other students should take action to help.
Bratt went online, found a low-cost supplier, and designed black bracelets imprinted with the Haitian motto “L’union fait la force” and its English translation “Strength in Unity.”
Through local media and Facebook, Bratt enlisted other students to sell the bracelets. Students as far away as Pittsburgh participated. Together they sold 3,300 bracelets, raising more than $6,000 for the American Red Cross. Bratt said he partnered with a secular organization so that non-Christian students wouldn’t be deterred from taking part.
“There is no better feeling than knowing that you are lending a hand to people in such dire circumstances,” Bratt said.
