Students Raise $400,000 for Ethiopia

A check for more than $400,000, representing money earned by youngsters through car washes and bake sales, has been handed over by Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Harry Handler to help Ethiopian famine victims.

Handler gave the money raised by the district’s 565,000 students to Interaction, an umbrella organization coordinating the efforts of relief agencies, for the purchase of antibiotics, high protein supplements and other medical supplies.

“Students in Los Angeles have indeed helped to make a miracle,” Handler said at a news conference Thursday.

Since May 13, the students have staged bake sales, car washes and other efforts to raise the money. The drive was sparked by an April New York city school district challenge to the nation’s other schools to match the $250,000 raised by the nation’s largest district.

The funds will be allocated to UNICEF ($160,113), World Vision ($100,071), Operation California ($76,054), Africare ($32,022) and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee ($32,022).