Eight-year-old Caleb Nocton collects things.

Recently, he added a prized piece to his collection - a receipt from the Red Cross for a $10 donation he made to the Red Cross to help the Haiti relief effort.

"He handed me his $10 bill and said it was his birthday money, and he was donating it to Haiti," said Meg Finnin, the office manager at the Moore County Chapter of the Red Cross, who accepted the donation.

Caleb's father, Tim, said he and his wife, Damita, talked to their son about the situation in Haiti, and Caleb decided to donate the birthday money he received from his grandparents.

"Caleb is a big collector," Nocton said. "We call him Fred Sanford. When we left (the Red Cross), I put his receipt in my pocket, and as we walked out, he said to me, 'Dad, make sure you save that.'"

The next morning, Nocton put the receipt on the kitchen table for his son, who promptly scooped it up and took it to his room to put it with his other prized possessions.

"He was excited," Nocton said. "It made him feel really good what he did."

The Moore County Chapter of the Red Cross has collected more than $10,000 in donations, according to Buddy Spong, the executive director of the Moore County Red Cross. Nationally, Spong said, the Red Cross has raised $137 million. Of that, $25 million has come through texting.

The Noctons are just one example of how Moore County residents are responding to relief efforts in Haiti following a devastating earthquake.

Southern Pines resident Brenda Whitaker has been collecting shoes. She began calling potential donors after she saw a feature about "Shoes 4 Souls" on the television news Sunday. By Thursday, Whitaker and various groups across Moore County, including Sandhills Farm Life Elementary School, a department at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, a senior center and a local church, were collecting shoes

Shoes 4 Souls is a Raleigh-based charity that collects unwanted shoes for those in need. The organization has collected more than 30,000 pairs of shoes for its Operation Shoes 4 Souls in Haiti. Its goal is 150,000 pairs.

Thanks to Moore County donors, Whitaker collected more than 1,000 shoes to contribute to the cause.

"Its been overwhelming how many have given," Whitaker said.

At Sandhills Farm Life, the donations were more than double what administrators irst expected.

"It's wild to see the kids coming up and down the halls with bags of shoes," said Kim Bullard, assistant principal of Sandhills Farm Life.

About 50 students in the 21st Century Community Learning Center's after-school program at Aberdeen Elementary school participated in a Masters of Disasters program sponsored by the Red Cross. After the program, students made thank-you cards to send to relief effort volunteers in Haiti.

"We wanted to show them that even as small children they can make a difference in other people's lives," said Shannon Hammett, with 21st Century Community Learning Center.

The center tutors at-risk students after school and teaches them life skills through various programs, such as Masters of Disaster.

Local Lions Club chapters are also banding together to raise funds locally for the Lions Hope for Haiti program.

"I know we will all pitch in in some way," said Brad Logsdon, of the Pinehurst Lions.

The Pinehurst Lions have raised $1,000. Logsdon said he was unaware of what the other local clubs had raised, but he estimated that donations were similar to what his group had collected.

Locally, there are about 250 members in seven Lions Club chapters in Moore County.

To date, the Lions Club International Foundation has generated more than $350,000.

To make a donation to the Lions, go online to www.lcif.org/donate. Select disaster and include "LCIF Haiti Earthquake Relief" in the comments section. Donations can also be mailed. Make checks payable to Lions Club International Foundation, noting "LCIF Haiti Earthquake Relief" in the memo field and send them to: LCIF, 300 W. 22nd St., Oak Brook, Ill 60523, Attn: Donor Services.

The Rotary Club of Southern Pines has started an effort to provide ShelterBoxes - a pack of supplies that included a 10-person tent - to help earthquake victims. One box costs $1,000, according to Jeff Gilbert, the club president. Anyone interested in helping that cause can contact Gilbert at (910) 235-0509.

Contact Tom Embrey at (910) 693-2484 or by e-mail at tembrey@thepilot.com.