WESTLAKE VILLAGE : Students Aid Families Stricken by Quake

She’s been saving her allowance to buy a television set for her bedroom, but 11-year-old Kelley Kaufman didn’t think twice about dipping into her reserves for $15.

“I didn’t mind giving it away,� said Kelley. “It was to help people.�

Kelley and her classmates at White Oak Elementary School in Westlake Village raised about $800 to help students and their families at San Cayetano Elementary in Fillmore who were displaced by the Northridge quake. Karen Cooksey, principal of the 800-student Fillmore school, traveled to White Oak Elementary with student representatives Monday to receive the donation.

Fillmore was pummeled more severely than any other city in Ventura County by the Northridge quake, suffering about $250 million in damage.

Cooksey said San Cayetano suffered only cosmetic damage, but the quake rendered nearly 40 of the school’s families homeless. She said the funds will be given directly to those families who lost their houses or apartments in the quake.

The effort comes as more than 200 schools nationwide are offering books, monetary donations and moral support to students in areas hard hit by the earthquake.

Hoping to ease the suffering of their counterparts in Fillmore, White Oak students turned over their piggy banks, withdrew money from their savings accounts and asked relatives to pitch in.

“This is an incredible offering of caring and love,� said Cooksey. “It’s teaching our students how people come together--that we are all one big family.�