MARNE -- Do you have the best chili in the Valley? Then enter it in Marne United Methodist Church chili cookoff from 6 to 8 p.m. March 5.

The entry fee is $10, and everyone is welcome to come by and vote for a favorite. Voting is by donation. The deadline to register through the church is Feb. 21 by calling (740) 763-4333.

All proceeds will be used to repair a school building in Callebasse, Haiti, that was damaged in the 2010 earthquake, as well as build another school on top of the existing Church of the New Covenant. The estimate for the entire project is $50,000.

The idea for the cookoff came from John Ricket, of Newark. He borrowed the idea from a similar fundraiser for Haiti in 2010 at Central Ohio Technical College.

Ricket also is the one who originally brought the Haiti mission idea to Marne UMC. His former church, Faith Outreach Fellowship in Vanatta, had been helping the small village in Haiti before closing. Ricket has traveled to Haiti five times since 2005 and has gotten to know the pastor, Monoit Mercilus, well.

"What grabs my heart about Haiti is when you see the people that have no possessions, but they still have a sweet spirit and a smile on their faces," Ricket said. "They might get only one meal a day, but yet they don't complain."

The school that was damaged in the earthquake was not complete, but residents had been using it. A wall fell down, and part of the concrete roof fell off as well as one wall of the restrooms. The four-room school has 100 students, and classes are being conducted in the church. Two other schools they support have 350 students. Only five teachers and one principal teach all 450 students.

Other fundraisers planned for the Haiti school fund by Marne UMC include a bike-a-thon in May and a spaghetti dinner in October. The church also has been soliciting donations through social networking sites such as Facebook, said John Coleman, another longtime supporter of the church and school in Haiti. Coleman also leads medical missions to the impoverished nation and is planning his sixth trip in November.

"Marne Church decided if we are going to do this (support the school), we are going to do it right," Coleman said. "We want to take a rifle approach instead of a shotgun approach. To give them a proper education, they need classroom chairs, running water, bathrooms, chalkboards and everything they need."

The project also would include a concrete cistern to collect rainwater that would be used by the school and neighbors.

"The Haitians are strong in faith," Coleman said. "I went down in May (after the earthquake), and one family lost everything, including half of their family. They are amazing, strong people. They persevere. I admire them for their strength. They keep plugging away, and they are also very appreciative."

The new school on top of the existing church will be a steel structure to prepare for the future, not only for growth but also to be more earthquake-ready. It will take a while to raise the $50,000, but Coleman said organizers are not in a hurry.

"We would like to do it in two years," Coleman said. "I think it's doable."