Stewart School sets
cancer research fundraising record
Stewart School students once again eagerly participated in the Pennies for Patients campaign this year. During this community service learning program, which benefits The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, students from the second to fifth grades at Stewart School brought in pennies and other donation amounts into school to help fund cancer research. “This year Stewart School raised a record-breaking $27,515.71 in just three-short weeks. Stewart School has been involved with Pennies for Patients since 2009 and has collectively raised an astounding $77,346.78. They are the highest fundraising school ever in the Long Island program and were recently announced as the sixth highest fundraising school in the nation.” explained Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Campaign Specialist Melissa Pulsinelli.
During a very special school-wide service learning assembly held last month, three Stewart School graduates and cancers survivors, Kelly Aneser (a sophomore at Garden City High School), Bobby Menges (a junior at Garden City High School) and Charlie Schmitt (a freshman at Garden City High Scgiik) each spoke from the heart to all of the Stewart School Students about how programs like Pennies for Patients helped save their lives and the lives of countless others.
Since Stewart School has raised so much to benefit patient services, family support groups, and critical research, Stewart School now has its name linked to a research grant. “[Stewart School teacher] Brenda McCarthy and Principal Linda Norton have chosen the Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma-Aggressive research portfolio on Stewart School’s behalf,” said Pulsinelli as she presented them with special crystal awards at the school assembly.
Each student present was moved by hearing from the Garden City High School cancer survivors and was happy to have been involved with the Pennies for Patients program. McCarthy spearheaded Stewart’s involvement with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. “Thank you to Stewart’s generous students who donated coins, dollars, and checks from completing extra chores at home, donated from their own piggy banks, ran at-home lemonade stands, silly band sales, and bake sales, held family letter writing campaigns and corporate match programs, had Pizza Fridays – Avellino’s on Nassau Boulevard in Garden City offered pizza at great discount to increase our donating profits – and participated in “Stuck for a Buck’ – duct tape very generously donated by Home Depot, Hempstead – to help us reach this amazing goal,” McCarthy said.
Stewart School students learned firsthand how their collective efforts can have a huge impact and help others in need. A very valuable lesson learned by very young and capable students.