From Register Staff

The enterprising eighth-grade students from Mr. Milton Gallegos class have banded together in a relief effort gathering spare change collected from every classroom. Days after the devastation, a flyer was sent home with each student urging families to donate loose change at the school. The collection, which started Sept. 8 and ended Sept. 14, collected $2,044.

The collection will be directed to the following beneficiaries whom the eighth grade students unanimously voted would most likely benefit from:

* $235 to National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) -- where it is running a "child to child" campaign asking every Catholic school student to contribute $1;

* $250 to Catholic Charities, USA

* $250 to National Humane Society for animal hurricane victims

* $1,309 to St. John's Inter-parochial Elementary Catholic School, Gulfport, Miss.

The second-grade students also donated money raised for their field trip to purchase Safeway Gift Cards for families displaced from the hurricane who are now living temporarily in Napa. A local resident who had already contributed to hurricane relief, heard of their good deed on a television broadcast, and not wanting the kids miss their field trip, donated his own money to the class.

Father Gordon Kalil, pastor of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, said more than $30,000 has already been collected from donations coming into the church and are going to Catholic Charities, USA and Catholic Charities, Napa to aid those affected in the Gulf Coast and families living temporarily in Napa from the affected areas.

St. John's school continues to collect spare change at its front office on 983 Napa St. Those who are interested in donating are welcome to stop by the school and give what they can for this effort.

For more information call 226-9379.