MARYSVILLE — Students at Liberty Elementary were recently recognized for their recent donation to Haiti relief.

The school’s Student Council, teacher Sharon Desmond and principal Scott Irwin, presented a check to Kristi Myers, development director for the Snohomish County Chapter of the American Red Cross, for $1,475.97 on Wednesday, Feb. 10.

Kindergarten through fifth-grade students held a coin drive to raise funds. The drive was organized by the Council, a collection of about 20 students who help plan school activities and events, Desmond said.

“Students emptied piggy banks, families donated cash and students sacrificed their Friday popcorn money and donated it for Haitian recovery,” Desmond said.

A $10 donation provides a first aid kit that can treat between 15-20 earthquake victims, Myers said, adding that the same amount can also provide a family with two cans to store clean water, basic first aid supplies or a blanket.

The money provided by Liberty students could provide more than 147 families with supplies or allow Red Cross responders to help about 2,500 survivors with basic first aid, she said.

“We’re down there making sure they get food and water and make sure they have a place to sleep at night,” Myers told the Student Council.

Seventy-nine percent of Liberty students are low-income students by state standards.

Myers said at least a dozen elementary schools have donated money to the Red Cross.

“It’s been an amazing response,” she said.

Council President Joshua Villavicencio and Haiti committee chairperson Angela Reisman handed the oversized check to Myers.

Desmond said a credit union volunteered the use of a coin-counting machine, ensuring that every penny that was collected went to the American Red Cross.

According to an e-mail from the Snohomish County Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Red Cross is producing more than 1 million liters of water per day, and distributing water in 100 settlements.

The Red Cross has also handed out food and relief items, including blankets, kitchen sets, hygiene kits, buckets and water containers, to approximately 170,000 people.

Nearly $78 million has been spent by the American Red Cross, including more than $25 million in Haiti donations, officials said.