Mallory Fernald at her bake sale.

When 10-year-old Mallory Fernald was told she was too small to make a big difference in the rebuilding of Haiti, she didn’t listen. Now, she’s building a house.

“The damage was just so harsh. I wanted to make it look better,” said Mallory, a Live Oak 4th grader, who is home schooled by her mother Leigh Fernald. “There are people there living in boxes.”

Mallory first saw before and after photos of the effort the rebuild going on in Haiti while attending church at Live Oak First Baptist. She later discovered that the Florida First Baptist Convention, along with other Christian organizations, are working with local Haitian pastors and their communities to provide permanent cement block homes for Haitian families in an effort called “REBUILD HAITI”.

For approximately $2,500, the non-profit can build a home for a family that was displaced by the January 12, 2010 earthquake using Haitian builders and labor in order to supplement the Haitian economy.

Over one million people are reportedly without homes in Haiti due to the earthquake.

“I’ve been wanting to help,” Mallory said. “I thought, maybe I could help by having a bake sale.”

So she set a fundraising goal of $1,500 dollars.

“I thought, well that’s quite a large goal for a 10-year-old,” said Leigh Fernald. “I suggested we have a bake sale at our house, but she had bigger dreams. ”

Mallory wrote a letter to owner Jeff Scott of Cheek and Scott Drugs and explained the opportunity she had to build a house in Haiti and asked if she could have a bake sale in front of his store. Scott replied. And not only did he give Mallory permission to have the bake sale, he also offered to match the funds she would raise up to $750.

The 10-year-old humanitarian immediately began promoting her bake sale on Facebook and YouTube and with tons of signs. Almost overnight, Mallory said she received an overwhelmingly large and generous response from the Live Oak community. Many donated cakes, cookies, brownies and other baked goods to her sale, which took place last Friday, March 25.

But there was still more to be done, so the day before the sale, Mallory and her mother began baking.

“Our kitchen got really hot,” Mallory said laughing.

On Friday, Mallory sold baked goods from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. That afternoon, she realized she had not only met her goal, but surpassed it. By the end of the day, the bake sale had yielded $2, 214.

“I feel like God just took her vision and blessed it,” said Leigh.

Cheek and Scott Drugs donated $750 as promised, bringing Mallory’s total to $2,963.