The Outreach Society at Concord launched an appeal to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake and in less than a fortnight has raised over £1000.

Mr Hawkins gave a presentation in assembly showing some of the most striking images to come out of the Haiti disaster and it really touched the hearts of staff and students. As a result, Concord College’s Outreach Society has raised £1,020 for the disaster appeal.

Mr Hawkins put his slide show together to help the Outreach appeal – and it worked. He said it was not his intention to ‘shock’ students into action, but to make them more aware of the repercussions of the earthquake, particularly in the way some of Haiti’s people had behaved towards each other. “The immediate crisis is over,” said Mr. Hawkins. “The need now is to help Haiti in its re-building and give the country something to aim for.”

He added: “Staff and students at the college have been incredibly generous – I think their response has been absolutely wonderful.”

The Outreach Society was formed two years’ ago by a group of students who wanted to make the rest of the college more aware of issues in the wider world. At the same time, it was their aim to raise as much money as they could for charitable causes as well as taking volunteering roles in the local community.

Outreach President, Ashley Lee, who is in his final year at Concord, said he was thrilled by the amount the members had succeeded in raising. “I am extremely pleased with the response from both staff and students,” he said. The money will be sent via World Vision, a recognised charity, which was already working in Haiti with vulnerable groups especially children before the earthquake struck.