Barry
students involved
in
'Pennies for Patients'
by Kim
Fickett
Landmark reporter
Coming together to help others is what students at Barry
School did during the month of February.
The students of Barry School recently participated in
Pennies for Patients, a fundraising event for the Leukemia/Lymphoma
Society, Feb. 4-22.
Established in 1993, Pennies for Patients is a program
designed to involve the youth of our nation in supporting
the cause of leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and
myeloma.
"The goal of Pennies for Patients is to raise money
to go toward our mission," stated Mary Carver, campaign
manager of the Mid-America Chapter in Shawnee Mission,
KS. "Our mission is to find a cure for leukemia,
lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, as well as to
improve the quality of life of our patients and families."
This year, the students at Barry School raised approximately
$1,050, compared to last year's amount of nearly $800.
Barry School is just one of 95 schools that participate
in the fundraiser across Kansas City and Springfield.
"The neatest thing about this program is that kids
are helping other kids," said Carver.
Carver added that the society sends out posters to each
school who are participating in the fundrasier. Those
posters show kids on a local level who are living with
those diseases supported by the fundraiser.
"It helps them understand that the people who get
these diseases aren't just older people or people who
are far away, but are people who are just like them and
that live in the Kansas City area," explained Carver.
The money raised by Barry School is sent to the Mid-America
Chapter in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. The Shawnee Mission
chapter is one of 38 across the nation which services
western Missouri, a part of Kansas and Iowa.
Barry School second grade teacher Vera McPike's class
was the top class at Barry School raising over $200 for
the cause. McPike stated that a video, 'Why Charlie Brown
Why?', is one reason her students came through with their
response to the fundraiser the way they did.
"The video really touched their hearts seeing this
cartoon character depicted by the video going through
this illness," said McPike. "It did an excellent
job of getting down on their level and explaining it."
For the past two years, the school's collection for Pennies
for Patients has been donated in the memory of David Lamb,
husband of the reading teacher at Barry School, who died
of cancer last year.
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