POSTED: Friday, January 15 at 4:30 p.m.

"This just broke our hearts," said Ginny Owens speaking of her trip to Haiti. "They were malnourished, some had fevers. It was awful."

One year ago Owens went on a relief mission to Haiti. The poverty affected her so much, especially when it came to the children, that when she returned she decided to raise money to build an orphanage.

"Where we stayed, there was no electricity, no running water. And to me that is what hit me the most," Owens said.

Doubledays Bowling Alley in Cottage Grove will host the fund raiser on February 13. And even though this event was planned months ago, once the earthquake hit, donations for their silent auction and raffle started to pour in, including a signed basketball from Bo Ryan.

But this isn't the only fund raiser in our area put on by everyday people, who just want to make a difference.

"We are doing something like everybody to help the people there," added Pete Ademi who owns Sir Hobo's,

Sir Hobo's in Sun Prairie will host a bake sale all this weekend. Everything will be homemade, and donation only.

"This counter all the way over there will be filled with goodies," added Ademi as he pointed out where the items will be.

Ademi was born in Albania, where earthquakes are not uncommon. So, this disaster hits close to home even though home is half a world away.

"If we can donate it would be very helpful for them. Make their life easier," concluded Ademi.

"I think people think we have to give a lot. And we don't," said Diane Copp who is helping Owens put the fund raiser together. "If everyone in Dane County even gave us one dollar, we could build a lot of orphanages down there."

If you would like to donate to the causes you saw in this story, we have the information on this webchannel under Newslinks.

Also, in Fort Atkinson, the civic organizations there have already raised more than $2,000 for relief.