Schoolchildren are being asked to empty their piggy banks and hold fundraisers in a statewide campaign organized by the Maryland State Department of Education to help children in Haiti. The donations will be collected at the state's 1,600 schools and then given to the 2010 Haiti Relief and Development Fund of the American Red Cross. "Most students have seen the devastation in Haiti, and they feel helpless. This is something they can do," said Bill Reinhard, a spokesman for the department. Reinhard said he has been getting many phone calls from school systems that want to be involved. Maryland students raised $1.3 million to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. "As we witnessed through the Hurricane Katrina campaign, Maryland children are extremely caring and compassionate and always willing to help others," said state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick.