Students Sending Messages of Peace to Athletes in Sochi

Students at Chevy Chase Elementary School are making messages of peace to send to the athletes competing at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, a site threatened by terrorists.

A series of suicide bombings in southern Russia, likely set off by Chechen rebels who have previously threatened the Games, have raised concerns about the potential for a terrorist attack either in or around Sochi, reports USA Today. Some American athletes have told their families to stay home.

“There's this ancient Japanese legend that pretty much says that if you make a thousand cranes with a specific wish in mind, the wish will come true,” said student Elsa Friedmann.

So the students at the school in Chevy Chase are making origami cranes as messages of peace to Olympic athletes, reports FOX 5 TV.

Once a thousand cranes have been made, organizers have to figure out how to get them from Maryland to Sochi and directly to Olympic athletes. They haven’t cracked that part of the puzzle and are hoping somebody with some connections comes forward to help.

“Some athlete is going to stick their hand in their pocket and pull out this crane, and open it up and read this peace message from a child in the United States,” school Principal Jody Smith told the TV station. “And wouldn’t it be nice that a Russian athlete or somebody from Israel or somebody from South America has a crane that says peace for all athletes.”