Eastbayri.com

BARRINGTON — The Interact Club at Barrington High School in conjunction with the Barrington/Warren Rotary Club recently held a fund-raising dinner and raised more than $3,000 to benefit Haiti.

Organized by high school senior Olivia Griot, the event was part of her senior project.

“We raised over $3,000 at the dinner through ticket sales, raffle tickets, and generous donations,” Olivia said.

More than 200 people attended the dinner of pasta and meatballs, salad and bread prepared by rotary members and served by members of the Interact Club.

Olivia said she was encouraged to hold the fund-raiser after her friend and classmate Maite Van Hentenryck got her involved with Haitian relief efforts since the devastating earthquake hit the island nation more than two years ago.

“Maite sold bracelets for Haiti and when I was thinking of senior project, she encouraged me to do it,” Olivia said.

Debbi Deese, advisor for the Interact Club, acted as mentor for Olivia’s project and said she was happy about the number of attendees.

“This is a great night,” she said.

Members of the club solicited donations for the raffle that included an iPad, a Kindle and a digital camera. Chiazza Trattoria donated the salad and Calise Bakery donated the bread for the dinner.

John Metaxas, president-elect at the rotary, said the Interact Club has a charter relationship with the group and they often partner on projects of this kind.

“We have done quite a few projects with them and this is turning out to be a great event. We match funds they raise-all for a good cause,” Mr. Mataxas said.

Olivia also had a helping hand from middle school teacher Connie Oswald. Mrs. Oswald’s daughter Cate, a 2000 graduate of the high school, is working in Haiti with Partners in Health (PIH), a Boston-based company dedicated to bringing health care services to impoverished regions of the world. All money raised at the fund-raiser will be given to PIH.

Ms. Oswald has been in Haiti working for PIH since 2007 and since the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake, has been the primary coordinator for all medical and clinical work for the organization. She is a graduate of Brown University and earned her masters degree in public health from Boston University,

After dinner was served, Ms. Oswald was contacted via Skype and conversed with the crowd at the high school.