AREA CHILDREN PULLING TOGETHER TO AID HURRICANE VICTIMS; SCHOOLS PITCH IN TO RAISE RELIEF SUPPLIES, DONATIONS FOR CENTRAL AMERICANS.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

Local schoolchildren, touched by the devastation wreaked this month by Hurricane Mitch, have begun collection drives to send relief supplies and donations to ravaged Central American countries.

The storm's death toll has exceeded 8,000 people in just Honduras and Nicaragua, and the destructive winds and rain have left more than a million Central Americans homeless.

Officials at the American Red Cross office in Santa Clarita say the most effective way to help with disaster relief is to send a check, payable to the organization, specifying the donation be used for Hurricane Mitch victims. The Red Cross doesn't have the room at its small Valencia Boulevard store for donated clothing and food, said Pat Warford, who oversees community resource development.

For those who want to contribute supplies rather than money, several area elementary schools are asking parents and pupils to drop off donations. The drive began at Meadows Elementary School in Valencia, and has spread to several other campuses across the Santa Clarita Valley.

Pat Wingenroth, whose sons attend Meadows, said the idea originated with her fifth-grader, Kevin. He saw a photo of young disaster victims on the front page of a newspaper last week.

``It really bothered him that these kids lost their family and lost their homes. He just thought that was the most horrible thing he had heard of,'' Wingenroth said. ``He said, Is there anything we could do for these people? That was kind of neat, coming from a kid.''

Wingenroth called Parent Teacher Association presidents at other schools and asked them to appeal to their kids and parents. ``It was such a devastating thing that happened. People are just looking for a way to help and they just didn't know how to go about it,'' she said.

On Monday, two local businesses - Valencia Best Value Moving and Camelot Movers - will send trucks to pick up the donated goods. The elementary schools on their route are Castaic, Cedarcreek, Emblem, Live Oak, Old Orchard, Peachland and Meadows, Wingenroth said. Castaic Middle School also is participating in the drive.

Charity and community service are part of the culture at Meadows, which has an enrollment of 815 pupils, said Principal Nancy Copley. ``The students are very giving. Last month, we had an art supply drive for the Boys & Girls Club. We've done a drive of money for the (city-sponsored) homeless shelter. Our third-graders trick-or-treated for UNICEF this year,'' she said.

``We've started a mind-set at our school to not just sit back,'' Wingenroth added.

The schools are collecting supplies like blankets, adult and children's clothing, nonperishable food, boots, jackets, baby bottles and diapers, she said.

``What we've heard is there's a desperate need for everything,'' added Linda Jensen, PTA president at Live Oak.

Notices will be sent home today with the 460 pupils at that school asking for donations to be dropped off at the campus by Monday, Jensen said.

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PHOTO (Color) Valencia resident Pat Wingenroth and her three sons, from left, Ryan, Connor and Kevin, are participating in a supply drive to aid victims of Hurricane Mitch. Wingenroth credits her son Kevin, a pupil at Meadows Elementary School, with initiating the campaign that has spread to a middle school and several elementary campuses throughout Santa Clarita.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News