It’s been amazing to see the efforts that young people, along with the rest of our community, have been making to help others half a world away.

An old saying goes that you never really know someone until you go through a disaster with them. Earthquake, floods and fires can bring out the best in humanity, banishing the mundane and the petty from our thoughts and reminding us of what really matters: life, hope and community.

Just as our Valley pulled together in the wake of a massive flood one year ago, so too did local residents respond to the disaster in Haiti.

Valley church efforts to help those Haitians left homeless by the Jan. 12 earthquake started right off the bat. Not long after, the school children began doing their part.

In the Snoqualmie Valley School District, students off all ages gathered loose change for a variety of efforts, and shoes, loose or in pairs, to give to Haitians in sore need of footwear.

At Snoqualmie Middle School, students rushed to raise $500 to make sure teacher Justin Talmadge would have to dye his hair a bright shade of green. In just two weeks, Twin Falls Middle School students blew through their $2,000 goal in a coin drive, dumping everything but their lunch money to help people they will never meet.

Relief efforts will continue for months, and we applaud locals who are doing their part now. It’s heartening and inspiring to see people of all ages performing selfless acts for others, thousands of miles away. When a history-defining moment comes along, either in our own floods or a quake thousands of miles away, Valley residents answer the call.

• E-mail Valley Record Editor Seth Truscott at editor@valleyrecord.com.