Deauville Gardens West Raises Nearly $2K For St. Jude Hospital

Members of the Deauville Gardens West Elementary School Student Council, which includes student-athletes, under the advisement of Christine Orlando, coordinated a Math-a-Thon fundraiser in their school, which raised $1,963 to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. To prepare for the fundraising program, members of the Student Council worked collaboratively to put together packets. Inside the packets students included a letter for parents, a collection envelope, a prize sheet and a Math-a-Thon Funbook.

To encourage their peers, council members presented to third- through fifth-grade classes to explain the program and how their contributions will make a difference. During the presentation, students watched a short video, led by actors Kira Kosarin and Jack Griffo from the Nickelodeon television show “The Thundermans” about the inspiring journey of a young boy who went to St. Jude Hospital, received the appropriate treatment and eventually, went into remission.

After kicking off their event in early-May, students created a bulletin board in the school’s cafeteria, which displayed their initial goal of raising $500. Fifth-grade council members separated the donations, while keeping a list of participating students’ names. Third-grade members assisted with ordering prizes for the participants and fourth-grade members distributed the prizes. “They worked so well together, and together they made this event a success” said Orlando.

According to the mathathon.org website, for more than 35 years, the St. Jude Math-A-Thon, benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, has been America’s largest education-based fundraiser. To participate, children in grades K-8 ask family and friends for pledges to solve math problems in the St. Jude Math-A-Thon Funbook, developed by Scholastic.