As Californians, we view earthquakes as a natural aspect of life. If the ground gives a little shimmy, we smile, laugh and go on with our days.

Our last devastating quake was in 1994, in Northridge. It left buildings crumbled, people injured and houses destroyed. Luckily, our nation had the necessary funds for a quick and speedy recovery.

But what happens when a destructive quake lands in an impoverished nation?

On April 25, 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the country of Nepal. It caused an aftershock of injuries, deaths and destruction riddled throughout the historic capital Kathmandu as well as the rest of the nation.

Since Nepal is a nation in poverty, it does not have the sufficient resources or money to re-build its cities and provide aid to its citizens.

So on May 1, SMCHS decided to participate in the Dash for Cash fundraiser to help raise money for Nepal. Dash for Cash is an organization that provides aid for areas wounded by major disasters. SMCHS has helped those suffering in Hurricane Sandy and Haiti in the past through Dash for Cash.

This year, Senior Lindsey Narkchareon took charge of the event. The goal was to raise as much money as possible for Nepal in just one minute. Amazingly, SMCHS gathered a total of $2,573 in those 60 seconds.

“I had heard about [Dash for Cash] in class and over [ETV] and I was just waiting for someone else to come around and say, ‘Oh hey, we’re doing a fundraiser,’ but nobody came forward,” Narkchareon said. “If this ever happened to California or Thailand, where my family lives, I would want someone to step up and do their best to help. Seeing that nobody else was going to do it, I just said ‘Hey, I’ll do it.’  [Dash for Cash] is just a very efficient way to have funds raised for the cause.”

On May 1, right after the morning bell, prayer and Pledge, the one minute began. Students in their period 2 classes took out their wallets and donated what they had until the time was up.

“We are planning to donate [the money] to the Catholic Relief Services and we’re going to let them disperse that money as they saw fit,” Narkchareon said. “They had Catholic Relief Service workers on the ground [for three days] after [the earthquake happened.”

Those suffering in Nepal need all of the help they can receive. With Dash for Cash, we sacrificed just one minute of our lives to help thousands who have lost the lives of loved ones and are at the risk of losing their own.