With the guidance of advisers Maura Brennan and Julie McCain, student council members from Clear Stream Avenue School recently hosted their annual Pennies for Patients fundraiser, raising $3,362 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society during a three-week period. The amount surpassed all previous years that the student council has conducted the campaign. 

Elementary and middle school students across the nation participate in the Pennies for Patients campaign to get involved in service learning by helping thousands of children and adults in their fight against blood cancers like leukemia. To educate the students on the cause, representatives from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society visited the school prior to the fundraiser to kick off the campaign and give students a better understanding of how the money will benefit those impacted by blood cancers.  

Student council members brainstormed initiative ideas to encourage students to donate. They decorated the hallways in posters with the campaign’s theme “Every Hero Needs A Squad” and decided that the classes that raised more than 15 pounds of pennies would earn a reward under the direction of their teachers. Donations were accepted online, through bills or through individual Pennies for Patients boxes.  

Together, the school donated 356.9 pounds of pennies with Maureen Carrano’s first-grade class as the overall winner of 47.6 pounds. The class received a special reward courtesy of Principal John Singleton. 

“I was really impressed with how much they were able to raise and with the amount of participation that we had,” said Brennan.  

“The students really understood the cause and donated as much as they could,” added McCain.