Goodwill can come in small packages with great big hearts.

        The 650 students at Oyler Elementary School in Lower Price Hill started a fund drive after the Sept. 11 attacks. They didn't have a goal, just an urgency to do their part.

        “The spirit and interest the children showed were amazing,” said Craig Hockenberry, principal. “We knew we couldn't get a big collection in this community because of the poverty status. We collected pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. Some kids skipped lunch to go on the streets to look for money.”

        They collected $293.53. Mr. Hockenberry drove all night Friday to Manhattan to deliver the money.

        He arrived at the Duane Street fire station Saturday morning.This unit is composed of Engine Company No. Seven and Ladder Company No. One. It was one of the first to arrive at the disaster scene and lost 24 men.

        “When I explained to the captain that I had driven all night to get there and told him something about our community, he cried,” Mr. Hockenberry said.

        Mr. Hockenberry brought back souvenirs for the kids; a fire hat and shirt from the station.

        Country Day Middle School will conduct a school supply drive Friday for PS 234, a school in New York.

        Students in the Milford School District organized popcorn and T-shirt sales and penny drives to raise $14,000 for disaster relief.

        At Fairfield Middle School, all teachers put a can on their desks and collected a total of $4,262.60.

        The Cincinnati Firefighters Union is closing in on its goal of raising $1 million for disaster relief.

        Joe Arnold, a member of the union board, said a recent count totals about $400,000.

        “This does not include what we have received from telephone calling and several other projects,” Mr. Arnold said.

        And Miami Township of Clermont County firefighters and residents have raised $45,000 in their “Fill The Boot,” campaign for New York Firefighters' 9-11 Fund.

        Corporate Printing, 125 East 9th Street, Downtown, is selling flag window decals. A minimum donation is $1 for the New York 9-11 Relief Fund.

        Allen Howard's “Some Good News” column runs Monday-Friday and Sundays. If you have suggestions about outstanding achievements, or people who are committing random acts of kindness that are uplifting to the Tristate, let him know at (513) 768-8362; at ahoward@enquirer.com; or by fax at (513) 768-8340.
       

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