Intermediate students from Pierre Elliott Trudeau Public School in Oshawa put their pencils and notebooks to rest and ditched class for an important cause on the 29^th of January.

Over 150 students from the 6^th to the 8^th grade each shelled out $3 to leave class and head to the school’s gymnasium to dance for Haiti. The fundraising event was organized to collect funds as well as donations for the Caribbean nation that was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on January 12.

Officials estimate the damages to be worth billions, and over 150,000 lives have been lost to the cataclysmic tragedy.

8^th Grade student Jeremy Mathews commented that it’s heartbreaking to see the effects of the earthquake. With Haiti’s motto “Union Makes Strength”, he and his friends thought it would only be right to bring everyone in the school together to raise money for those left with virtually nothing.

While the school in Oshawa has hosted dances numerous times in the past, this by far is the first time they’ve organized one for a cause.

The Oshawa elementary school has hosted dances in the past but this is the first to raise money.

A separated event dubbed “Hugs for Haiti” involved students who are too young to join the dance.