Asking people for money -- even if it’s for desperate earthquake victims in Haiti -- has its difficult moments.

Tomah High School junior Kelsey Martinka knows all about it. She has been at Tomah athletic events with a cup requesting relief funds.

“I had one person say, ‘I don’t believe in Haiti,’ and another say, ‘We need it for people here in America,’” Martinka said. “Sometimes I think I’m annoying people.”

But Martinka and other Tomah students have tapped a vein of generosity. So far, Tomah students have raised $2,400 for relief efforts, including $400 when 1,200 people packed the Tomah gymnasium for the Feb. 2 Tomah-Sparta wrestling match. Students hope to raise $10,000 by early March.

The inspiration began in the minority studies class taught by Alyssa Weaver. She shared an e-mail from two Tomah students, Abby Retzlaff and Mike Leinen, who were in Haiti at the time of the Jan. 12 earthquake. Soon afterward, “Help for Haiti” was launched.

“They sent the e-mail, and we started raising money,” Martinka said.

The fund-raising got off to a slow start until the effort was more advertised. Olivia Persons, a senior who joins Martinka at the athletic events, said, “Once the kids knew we were doing it, they would remember to bring money.”

The funds will go to Doctors Without Borders, an international medical relief organization that has served people threatened by violence, neglect and catastrophe since 1971.

“We were looking at an organization we knew was reliable,” said Joy Blackburn, a Tomah High School arts and theater teacher who joined Weaver in supervising Help for Haiti. “Mike and Abby knew (Doctors Without Borders) was there with clinics and doctors on the ground.”

Planning is underway for a fund-raising dance in March that will conclude the project.

Blackburn said Help for Haiti is a significant undertaking.

“The students I’ve seen have been really responsible,” Blackburn said. “They’ve taken on a lot of responsibility, and for them to put in that kind of time and effort is really impressive.”

Help for Haiti donations can also be made online at www.firstgiving.com/tomahhopeforhaiti. The International Red Cross estimates a third of Haiti’s nine million people may need emergency aid.