By Alix Roy, Town Correspondent

Middle school students at the Salemwood School are wearing their support for Haiti on their wrists and are close to raising $1,000 to help earthquake victims.

A project dreamed up by sixth grade teachers to sell rubber bracelets imprinted with the words hope, strength, survivor, and faith, has taken off. Students received permission to sell the bracelets, which come in blue and red, the colors of Haiti's flag, during lunch.

There is no minimum donation required to receive a bracelet but many students have been generous in their offerings, sixth grader Caron Camille said on Thursday.

It started with dimes and quarters and the next thing you know we're getting 20s, she said. Camille grew up in Haiti and saw her former schools and neighborhood reduced to rubble during television coverage of the disaster. I was crying ever day, she said.

The bracelet sale raised nearly $1,000 for the American Red Cross in its first week, said sixth grade English teacher Jane Wright. Of the 500 bracelets purchased for the drive, only 20 remain.

The outpouring of support means a lot to the contingent of Haitian students at the Malden school, many of whom grew up on the island and have family who live there.

You can see people walk down the hall with bracelets up to here, said sixth grader Hadinna Benoit, pointing to her elbow, It's nice to see people who care.

Sixth grade Social Studies teacher Penny Gordon said she was moved by the student support, especially since much of the school's population is considered low income. Parents and teachers also donated to the cause, she said.

It's amazing that we got that much, she said. The kids pulled through, they dug deep for their friends.

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