Cedar Drive elementary school kids went shopping for a good cause Wednesday during a student-run market to raise funds for the Red Cross Japanese earthquake relief effort.
Students at the Port Coquitlam school laid out their cash for pony rides and cupcakes, books, hand-made jewelry and other treasures, and when they weren't purchasing items, they were selling them.
Teacher Carleen Grant said the students came up with the idea of the marketplace as an alternative to chocolate sales and other traditional fundraisers. It was so creative and fit in so well with the school curriculum that teachers and staff jumped on board to support them.
"The motivation came from the children that they would see the thing through and they would feel they earned the money in the end and contributed their own hard work," Grant said.
The school's 200 students took turns buying and selling and using their math skills to add up the profits with the goal of raising $1,000 to help children in Japan affected by the earthquake and tsunami in March. They ended up raising $1,270.
