| Schools raise nearly $17,000 for cancer research
March 11, 2010
Who said a penny doesn’t go far these days?
For the five Bloomington schools and their students and staff who participated in this year’s Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Pennies for Patients fundraiser, those small coins had a big impact … a really big impact.
Nearly $17,000 was collected as part of the month-long fundraiser that concluded last week. The money will help fund education and patient services, and research to find cures for leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s diseases.
Participating schools and their fundraising totals included Oak Grove Middle, $8,886.31; Washburn Elementary, $2,577.58; Olson Middle, $2,191.92; Valley View Elementary, $2,010.44; and Indian Mounds, $1,317.50. The grand total of $16,983.75 averaged out to $5.65 for each student at the participating schools.
Schools held special themed-days and other creative activities to encourage more donations to surpass their individual school amounts last year. Each of the schools surpassed last year’s fundraising totals.
“We are very proud of our students for being so considerate of others and for showing such good citizenship,” said Julie McDonell, a teacher at Valley View Elementary, and co-leader of the student council that coordinated the school’s fundraiser this year. While McDonnell was speaking for the Valley View elementary students, the sentiment was the same at each of the participating schools.
Superintendent Les Fujitake praised the students and school efforts. “Students across Bloomington demonstrate a great sense of community spirit and pride in these, and other charitable efforts. And our dedicated staff help guide our students to understand the value of community service work,” said Fujitake. |
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