<bt>St. Jude’s Research Hospital has a few more dollars in their kitty, thanks to the donations from students and parents at Aquinas Montessori School.
“We topped our previous record high contribution of $3,418.62 in 2001 with an impressive collection of $4,758.43 in 2004,” said Cathy Sutphin, lower elementary classroom assistant. “Since the year 2000, when the school began participating in the Math-a-Thon, we have raised $16,611.07 for childhood cancer research.”
Contributing significantly to the cause was Rachel Michael, a five-year-old student at Aquinas Montessori, who raised $825 with the help of friends and family. She wrote a note in her Math-a-Thon booklet that said, “My Granddaddy died of a brain tumor. I raised this money in honor and memory of him to help others. Love Rachel Michael.”
“I feel good because it’s helping the people at St. Jude’s, plus my granddaddy may be looking down from heaven," she said.
“We are very proud of our students for working so hard on the Math-a-Thon,” said Amanda Messinger, volunteer coordinator. “With their help, St. Jude Hospital will be able to create new treatments that may one day lead to a cure for many forms of cancer that will benefit the children of our state, our country and around the world. I also want to extend our thanks to the Alexandria community for supporting our students. It takes all of us to make a difference in the lives of children with cancer and we can all feel proud of our response.”
<1b>— Gale Curcio