A penny may not get you far in this economy, but for the students at Stewart School, those little pieces of copper have gone a long way towards helping out beneficiaries of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by way of the Pennies for Patients program. This year, it was to the tune of $27,515.71, (collected in the short span of three weeks), and ever since the school became involved back in 2009, the total amount has so far been a mind boggling $77,346.78. In the process, Stewart School has become the highest fundraising school ever in Long Island and was recently announced as being the sixth highest fundraising school in the NATION. Making it even more of a hometown affair was the fact that three Stewart School alums who also happen to be cancer survivors—Kelly Aneser, Bobby Menges and Charlie Schmitt–not only gave a testimony to the Stewart student body at an assembly last month, but also wound up presenting the check for this year’s amount to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It’s quite a head accomplishment and while the money raised will do wonders for the afflicted, the lessons of compassion and perseverance these kids learned is worth almost as much.
— Dave Gil de Rubio
