Raymond J. Lockhart Elementary School made a child’s wish come true by raising nearly $5,100 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The effort has been part of the school’s tradition for about 27 years and is the longest-running school fundraiser for the organization. This year, in a student body vote, the wish of an 11-year-old girl named Dedanaa who has sickle cell disease was granted. Dedanaa’s wish is to travel to Ghana in West Africa to visit family members she never met before. Because of the generosity of the Lockhart community, Dedanaa will finally be able to wrap her arms around her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, making this family reunion the best kind of medicine.
Lockhart’s Student Council presented a large cardboard check in the amount of $5,050 to Patricia Clemency, the regional CEO of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, after the school’s annual holiday concert. Additional funds came in after the check was presented. Clemency visits Lockhart every year to recognize the students’ efforts by presenting them with a special plaque and to remind them of the tremendous impact they are making in the life of an ailing child and the child’s family.
Lockhart students and their families raise money for the cause each year by participating in a walk-a-thon in the fall, which is organized by sixth-grade teacher Donald Bresnihan.
