With the current aftermath of Sandy. We are personally effected. To help raise awareness with students and the community, the students could host a food drive. To make it a school wide effort classes can compete to see who brings in the most food. Additionally, they could start a pennies drive, were students bring pennies in from their home to donate.
To make it more personal, teachers could arrange live webcast with schools that have been displaced from their buildings. This would make the connection more personal and real to the students.