Haiti came to Colorado this week, as two Denver-area schools welcomed talented young visitors from the island nation. Together, they raised over $3,200 for vaccinations in Haiti.

All week, West Middle School and Falcon Bluffs Middle School in Littleton have been participating in "Give A Kid A Shot," a campaign seeking to inoculate the nearly one million children in Haiti who have no access to vaccines. Only $2 dollars provides basic immunity for one child in Haiti.

"These middle schoolers really got the picture," said Dr. Nicole Hoffman, one of the local sponsors and medical adviser for the campaign. "They know the money they collected this week will mean life to 1,800 kids in Haiti."

Those 1,800 Haitian children became real through the appearance and the art of the Resurrection Dance Theater of Haiti - the celebrated troupe of young dancers, drummers and story-tellers who were once orphans living on the streets of Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital. These nine boys and young men, ages 12-27, gave four performances over two days at the two schools.

"These boys gave us the best assembly I have ever seen in my career as an educator," said Wendy Rubin, principal of Falcon Bluffs. "It was moving, inspiring, so much fun. The kids can't stop talking about it - that's always a good sign! Best of all, it helped them to think more globally, and really connect with people from another country and culture. This is the kind of learning and awareness that we really want to foster in our schools and with our kids."

Falcon Bluffs science teacher Carolyn Brewer, who also helped organize the event, was thrilled to see and hear the reaction from students, teachers and parents. "You should have seen everyone's faces. They were mesmerized. And they really appreciated the fact that the group stayed and spent the day with them." The older members of the Dance Theater troupe accompanied students to social studies, art and music classes, where they shared their perspective and expertise. The lead drummer, Bill Nathan, is a world-class percussionist who has studied with the best. "He gave an entire music class a Haitian drumming lesson," recalled Ms. Brewer. "Everyone was getting into it. It was one period they'll never forget."

The 768 students at Falcon Bluffs raised over $1,536 in just a few days. A giant tote board in the shape of a syringe registered the contributions. West Middle School sixth graders had been at work since last week to "give a kid a shot." They had a similar "syringe" to measure their success: More than 400 West students collected $1,636. The totals are still rising, as final amounts still trickle in. One parent at Falcon Bluffs felt so inspired by these boys and their cause that she wrote a $100 check on the spot.

The campaign, "Give A Kid A Shot," is sponsored by the Haitian Timoun Foundation, a Littleton-based non-profit organization that focuses on improving the lives of Haitian children ("timoun" in the Creole language). HTF works directly with other Haitian organizations that can prove they are making a measurable difference in their country. For this campaign, HTF is partnering with Grace Children's Hospital in Port-au-Prince. This initial effort in the campaign is starting out small - again, with a few thousand kids - but the vision of HTF is to vaccinate one million Haitian children.

Just as importantly, none of these Littleton kids will ever think of Haiti as some unknown nation, or as a hopeless cause. Instead, they will remember the hope-filled smiles, stories and art of these boys - and the special time when they got to help "give a kid a shot."