MERRILLVILLE | The images of broken and battered children, fallen buildings and bodies pulled from the rubble that have been pictured on television have moved Andrean High School students to raise and donate more than $5,000 to an orphanage in Haiti.

The money was presented Tuesday to Michael Fedele, the founder of Maranatha Orphanage and School, within 30 miles of the epicenter of the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince.

Andrean seniors Alexa Serwinski, 17, and Jessica Lopez, 18, along with junior Katie O'Brien, 16, are members of the student council's executive board.

The students said they wanted to do something for the people of Haiti, and had an idea to host a Dress Down Day Jan. 22 with each student donating $2. The students said they had hoped to raise at least $1,600 but far surpassed that goal and set a new goal of $3,500, which they also surpassed.

Serwinski said when she's seen the images on television her first thought has been "how could something like this happen, and what can I do to help?"

O'Brien said she never thought that kind of destruction was possible.

"It's horrible that something so bad could happen to an area that already had so many problems," O'Brien said.

Too often, Lopez said, we take things for granted in our country.

The students set up containers throughout the school to give more students a chance to donate. An e-mail also was sent to parents inviting them to contribute.

Rick Torres, Andrean's dean of students, said so many schools are doing fundraisers and he thought it would be great to know "exactly where the money was going" so he suggested Fedele's orphanage to students.

"I'm really proud of our students. They really stepped up," he said. "It's wonderful to know we're in a school where so many people are so willing to help others."

Fedele, of Hammond, founded the orphanage eight years ago. It now accommodates 150 children and 20 workers, all of whom are reported to be sleeping outdoors because of severe damage to the orphanage.

Fedele is expected to go to Haiti at the end of the week.

Barbara O'Block, superintendent of the Catholic Diocese of Gary, said many of the schools responded to a request to take on a project.

"In our weekly newsletter, we encouraged the schools who usually take on projects for Catholic Schools Week to assist the people of Haiti," she said Tuesday. "It's been our practice that we do something. Lent is another time that we've done something. Many of our schools responded to that request."