Mapleshade triples goal in first Pennies for Patients fundraiser

Date: 4/6/2009

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



EAST LONGMEADOW A little loose change can go a long way. Just ask the students at Mapleshade Elementary -- together, they raised $2,841.72 for Pennies for Patients, a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

"This is a good deed our school did, Debbie Douville, a reading teacher at Mapleshade and the organizer of the school's Pennies for Patients fundraiser, said. "This was the first time Mapleshade did this, and we set a goal of $1,000."

That thousand dollar goal was reached in the first week of the three week drive, which ran from March 1 through March 20. Students brought in everything from pennies to dollar bills to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The class that raised the most funds -- Lorraine Malone s fourth graders -- will receive a pizza party from the society for their philanthropy.

Christianne McCandlish s fourth grade class came in a close second, just $30 behind Malone s class.

The fundraiser kicked off with an assembly featuring Douville's son, who was diagnosed with leukemia at age five. The third grader will be undergoing his last treatment in May. Douville said her son was the inspiration behind starting the fundraiser at Mapleshade.

"When I first heard about [Pennies for Patients], my son had spent his fair share of time at Baystate Hospital," Douville told Reminder Publications
Douville said she would like to see the Pennies for Patients fundraiser expand to the other schools in the district; she said Meadow Brook has been participating in the drive for several years already.

"Today's education world is often so test-crazy that many of the ideals of education are lost. In East Longmeadow, we still teach good character and integrate character into all our subject areas. Mapleshade students have truly demonstrated they know our nine district character traits -- especially the traits of caring and kindness," Superintendent Edward Costa noted.

"This is so close to my heart, Douville said. I m so proud of those within our own school -- the students, the parents and the teachers are so generous."

She added that she would love to see Pennies for Patients take place every year at Mapleshade.

Millions of dollars have been raised by Pennies for Patients since the fundraiser s start in 1994. For more information on the fundraiser or the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, log on to www.leukemia-lymphoma.org.