'Kits 4 Kids' project launches this week for Haiti relief

COLUMBIA — This week, fliers will go out to Missouri students, families and community groups encouraging them to participate in a new project, "Kits 4 Kids."  The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in partnership with Convoy of Hope, created the project in which hygiene kits are assembled to send to children in Haiti.

After a devastating earthquake in Haiti on Jan. 12, an estimated 1.5 million citizens are left homeless and in dire need of supplies.  

The kits will include toothpaste, shampoo, a toothbrush, comb and hand towel in a plastic bag. An optional addition for the children is a personal note to the kit recipient offering encouragement.

Michele Clark, assistant director of communications for the education department, describes the project as "a way that we felt students would want to participate in a humanitarian service."

She said the department hopes that "Kits 4 Kids" will help the relief effort as well as create an educational opportunity for Missouri students.  

The department has never engaged in a statewide relief project like this before, Clark said. The state hopes to collect 100,000 kits in 10 days, ending on Feb. 2.  It is voluntary, but all Missouri public schools are encouraged to participate.  

For more information on kits and their assembly, go to dese.mo.gov/features/Kits4Kids.htm.