Those empty milk cartons in every classroom are not meant for the recycling bin. They are part of the Eliminate project the Key Club is working on. Maurizio Antonnicola, the fashion marketing teacher at HHS and sponsor of the Key Club, has set a lofty goal for HHS.

“Three dollars saves a baby’s life. It’s that easy,” Antonnicola said of the project, which raises funds for treating tetanus around the world.

“It’s actually a project that’s been going on for years. We’ve just always put it off because we were busy local work,” Antonnicola said.

The 229 other key clubs in our District managed to raise $54,000 dollars in previous years, and this money is already at work funding immunization in Asian countries where many of the babies are delivered with dirty or rusty knives and contract tetanus, a potentially deadly infection of the nervous system. Once a baby has contracted the disease, he or she is plagued by intense pain and spasms before dying. Around the world, 60,000 babies die every year from untreated tetanus.

Having set a goal to raise $10,000 dollars for Kiwanis, Antonnicola is disappointed with the current rate of money trickling in. HHS has only raised $1100 dollars so far.

“Our officers are doing a tremendous job [promoting the cause],” Antonnicola said, “but our milk jugs haven’t been doing as well this year.”

He attributes this to the lack of a specific ‘face’ for the project. Many people are still not aware of its goal, which is to totally eradicate death from tetanus around the world.

With the recent trauma inflicted by hurricane Sandy on inhabitants of several northern states, this year Key Club will split its donations fifty-fifty between Eliminate and the Red Cross.

“We felt a part of the money should go to help some of our own people who have recently lost their homes,” Antonnicola said. “The Weather Channel promises to double any sum we raise.”

The deadline for the Eliminate project has been extended to mid December in the hopes of raising more money. So take the time to donate a dollar or even 50 cents to the cause. Just drop any donations in the milk cartons in any class.