Belle Aire sixth grade student Madalyn Quitter will get the experience of a lifetime June 1-2, when she will be one of just 16 children to serve on the Youth Crew for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Madalyn was inspired to participate by a close friend of the family, whom they call Auntie Donna. She was diagnosed with breast cancer that has since metastasized to her brain.

Madalyn was chosen for the Youth Crew based on an essay she submitted about how breast cancer has impacted her life, how much she loves encouraging and uplifting others, and what she hopes to gain from participating.

“Seeing my aunt fight breast cancer has made this disease more real for me now, and I want to help find a cure for it by supporting the people who walk,” Madalyn wrote. “I love to help and cheer people on. I always tell my friends at school to never give up, along with my friends at figure skating, and now I want to cheer on more people. ... No matter when, where and what is going on, you will always see me smiling. Enthusiasm is my middle name!”

Madalyn’s duties will include arriving a day prior to the walk to help set up the Wellness Village; serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and water to the walkers; and motivating them as they complete their journey. She will also have the opportunity to make connections with new people and hear their stories about why they are walking, Kim said. Other members of the family are supporting Auntie Donna, as well. Madalyn’s brother Lucas Beechler, a first grade student at Belle Aire, raised nearly $400 and subsequently shaved his head in March for breast cancer awareness, and Auntie Donna made the first swipe. Kim Quitter also is participating in the Avon Walk in support of their friend. 

Anyone interested in donating to support Madalyn’s fundraising commitment to the Avon Walk can visit her page at http://tinyurl.com/b8mq5bc.

O’Neill raises funds for genocide awareness

O'Neill eighth graders recently did their part to raise awareness of past and present genocides during their annual fundraising campaign, “Got Awareness.”Over the past four years, O’Neill students have raised more than $13,500.

bd’s Mongolian Grill at the Bolingbrook Promenade donated $3 for every person who came in May 9, and said they were there for the guest grillers--O’Neill staff. On May 16, Home Run Inn Pizza at 75th Street and Lemont Road donated 20 percent of the bill for every dine-in or carryout customer who turned in the event flyer.

The students also sold wristbands and gift basket raffle tickets during all lunch periods the week of May 6 to raise awareness about genocides throughout the world and raise funds for the various charities. This year’s fundraisers will benefit the Solar Cooker Project, which provides solar cookers to women in refugee camps; and the Sudanese Community Center, which assists Sudanese living in the Chicago area area to acclimate to America by helping them find day care, adult education, job training, transportation, and English as a Second Language courses.

Herrick SNAC students complete service projects 

Fairmount families set to pack meals at Feed My Starving Children
Fairmount School families will head over to Feed My Starving Children's Aurora facility on May 6 to pack meals for those less fortunate. The school also hosted a raffle for a Kindle Fire, raising more than $1,000 for the organization!

Hillcrest's Green Team collecting used shoes for those in need
In honor of Earth Week April 22-26, Hillcrest's Green Team will host its first annual shoe drive.  The Green Team is asking families to donate used adult and children gym shoes, which will be given to organizations that provide shoes to adults and children who cannot afford to purchase new gym shoes.  The shoes that cannot be reused will be donated to SCARCE, which has a partnership with NIKE.  SCARCE will ship the shoes to NIKE and the shoes will be recycled. 

By collecting small change, students at Henry Puffer School recently made a big difference for Almost Home Kids in Naperville.

The school’s student council organized a Penny Wars competition at the school to collect money for the organization, whose mission is to enhance the lives of children facing serious and ongoing medical challenges. Over the course of several weeks, Puffer students raised nearly $900 for the organization. Staff chipped in another $70, bringing the grand total to $950.15. 

On March 15, Mike Busse, president of Community Bank of Downers Grove and a board member at Almost Home Kids, visited the school to thank the students and staff and accept the donation on behalf of the organization.

“Almost Home Kids provides services for families with medically fragile children, training for family members who need to learn how to work with medical equipment that the kids are reliant on, and also provide respite services,” Busse said. “We are so grateful to the students and staff at Henry Puffer School for their generosity.”

“Everyone worked really hard to collect money for the contest, and we thank you for all of the services that you provide for the families and the kids,” said student council president Mary Kate Wilson, who presented the donation to Busse. 

Hillcrest students raise nearly $4,000 for American Heart Association

Lester students partner to make a difference for Sandy victims

Great things can happen when students put their minds together. Lester sixth-grade student Katie Lyda traveled to New York City over the winter holidays, where she saw firsthand the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. "I felt really bad for the people who lived there, because they all lost their homes," she said. She partnered with classmate Parker McGuire to make a difference. The two had made bracelets for fun in the past, and decided to sell them to raise money. On Feb. 13, Katie and Parker brought 160 bracelets to school to sell for 50 cents apiece, dubbing their campaign "Bandy for Sandy." They quickly sold out of their supply, and took orders for another 200! Friends helped them complete their orders with a bracelet-making party. With proceeds from the bracelet sales, coupled with donations from Lester students and staff, Katie and Parker collected $310 that will be donated to the American Red Cross to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. "It feels really good. We're talking about doing even more fundraisers," Katie said. "It made me feel like people actually cared about people that were hurt," Parker said. "That made me feel happy."

Puffer third-grader donates books, supplies to benefit Jamaican children

When Gabriella Frank and her family visited the West End Early Childhood Institution in Jamaica last year to participate in the weekly Sandals Foundation Reading Road Trip, she was struck by the needs of the school and its students. “We saw that children had to share supplies, even pencils,and I wanted to do something to help,” she said. Gabriella, who took first place in last year’s Kohl’s KidsWho Care contest for her generosity, decided to spearhead a school supply drive. In honor of her ninth birthday, her goal was to collect and purchase 99 books, 99 pencils, 99 sets of crayons and markers and other school supplies. She exceeded that goal, accumulating 117 pencils, 127 books, and more than 100 packs of crayons. “Everyone got something that they can use,” Gabriella said. When Gabriella and her family traveled to Jamaica over winter break, she delivered the donation to a representative from the Sandals Foundation, which has adopted the West End Early Childhood Institution. “The Sandals Foundation’s ongoing book drives have resulted in thousands of books being filtered into the Caribbean’s school system, and we are extremely proud to have ambassadors like Gabriella who help us to make this difference in our communities,” Sandals Regional Public Relations Manager (Negril) Kendra Johnson told the Jamaica Observer. Through the Sandals Foundation, Gabriella’s donation will be shared among the Negril Branch Library and several schools in Westmoreland, according to the Observer. 

If the O'Neill Middle School student council meets its goal of raising $4,500 during the next month to support childhood cancer research, student council sponsor Meg Van Dyke has promised to shave her head during the St. Baldrick’s Foundation event at Downers Grove South High School this spring. Students also sold cans of Crush soda Feb. 11-13, for delivery on Valentine’s Day with a note, and students from Downers Grove South will visit O’Neill during lunch periods Feb. 26 to talk with the students about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. 

During the week of January 28, the Belle Aire student council continued its Soup for Super Bowl tradition. Students brought in non-perishable food items and placed them in the box decorated for the team they hope will win the game. All food will be donated to the FISH food pantry in Downers Grove.

To show support for all the great work of the Illinois Chapter of Make-A-Wish Foundation (http://www.wishes.org/), the Belle Aire School student council sponsored a hat day on January 24.  Any child was allowed to wear their favorite hat in the building that day in exchange for a $1 donation to Make-A-Wish, which helps wishes come true for seriously ill children. All proceeds will go directly to help children in Illinois.

District 58 schools raise funds for Sandy relief

After Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast, students and staff in District 58 were inspired to help. During the past few months, schools raised money through a variety of activities to donate to the American Red Cross for the relief efforts.

A “hats for hurricane relief” at Lester School, in which students could pay to wear a hat during the school day, raised nearly $800 for hurricane relief.

El Sierra School’s student council sold Halloween candy as a fundraiser for the school--but after Superstorm Sandy hit, the students voted to change it to a community service project. Dubbed “Candy for Sandy,” the activity raised $90 to send to the American Red Cross. Staff’s Jingle Jeans charity drive, in which teachers paid $1 a day to wear jeans the two weeks prior to winter break, raised an additional $250 for Sandy relief.

The Belle Aire student council’s combination of $1 for students to wear hats and $5 for teachers to wear jeans raised $200, and Fairmount’s student council also sponsored a Hat Day for hurricane relief. Kingsley School's hat day fundraiser for students and jeans day fundraiser for staff brought in $400. Whittier School’s student council collected $400 for victims of Superstorm Sandy, and a donut hole breakfast at Henry Puffer School resulted in a $119.50 donation to the American Red Cross for Sandy relief.

"We are so impressed with the generosity of our students, their families, and our staff. They are so very willing to help those in need," said Superintendent Kari Cremascoli.

A group of Lester School students gave a wonderful gift to the Muscular Dystrophy Association during winter break: the gift of their time. From 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 27, 12 sixth-graders and one former Lester student participated in an MDA “packing party.” During the party, the students helped the MDA create packages for schools, community businesses and other organizations to promote awareness of Muscular Dystrophy and its effects. Included in the packages were dates for events, descriptions of the disease and its effects on children, and stories of lives the disease has touched.

“It was a great team effort, as the students had fun working together and getting to understand the disease itself and why it was important to raise awareness and volunteer for a great cause. The students worked hard the whole time and truly represented Lester School and District 58 with pride and respect,” said Lester Assistant Principal Ted Krillies, who participated in the event along with the students. “I am so proud of their efforts, especially during their Christmas break, and the MDA was even gracious enough to give our great students a pizza luncheon for their efforts.”

A recent "book battle" at El Sierra School raised $269.22 for books for the school's library, which also resulted in Scholastic donating 269 books to charity in the name of El Sierra! The winning classrooms, which will receive two free books and an ice cream party, were Lindsay Marcum's first grade, Vann Bennett's third grade, and Meg Adams' fifth grade. The activity was organized by the El Sierra student council.  

The O’Neill Middle School student council and the Herrick Middle School HOPE (Helping Ordinary People Everyday) Club recently teamed up to collect nearly 500 pounds of dog and cat food and boxes of treats, toys and supplies for the Wet Nose Food Pantry, which serves pets of families in need. Kate Quinn, who graduated from O’Neill in 1993, helped found the Wet Nose Pantry, and approached the student council about donating items. For more information about the Wet Nose Food Pantry, visit http://wetnosepetfoodpantry.webstarts.com/.

Herrick supporting Hope for Hunter
Herrick Middle School is supporting Hope for Hunter, set up to help a 14-year-old Darien resident who was severely injured when a truck hit him last February. One of Hunter's football teammates is spearheading the effort at Herrick, which includes a Hat Day for Hunter Nov. 26. Students who donated at least $1 received a ticket to wear a hat at school that day. Students also received Hope For Hunter pencils, and were encouraged to take time during their lunch period November 27 to write Hunter and his family a nice card. For more information, visit Hunter’s website, http://hope-4-hunter.org.  

For the second year in a row, the Pierce Downer PTA offered students the opportunity to turn in their surplus candy for a good cause. The PTA teamed up with FedEx and Operation Gratitude to collect candy to send to U.S. troops serving overseas. Students were also encouraged to write letters or make a homemade card to express their thanks to the men and women serving in the U.S. military. The PTA collected more than 400 pounds of candy and received enthusiastic support from students. The candy drive was held the week after Halloween and is just one of the many events the Pierce Downer PTA’s Healthy Kids Committee organizes throughout the year to encourage kids to make healthy choices. Operation Gratitude annually sends 100,000 care packages filled with snacks, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation to U.S. service members. Their mission is to lift morale, bring a smile to a service member’s face and express to our Armed Forces the appreciation and support of the American people.

Bloom's Angels event brings in funds for less fortunate at Herrick

Herrick Middle School’s Nov. 9 Family Fun Night fundraiserfor Bloom’s Angels drew a crowd of more than 700 and raised more than $7,300for the organization that benefits less fortunate families at the school. The fundraiser featured a crosstown boy’s basketball gameversus Jefferson Junior High at Downers Grove North High School, as well as araffle and silent auction. Bloom's Angels was founded in memory of BarbBlumenschein, who passed away in 2006. In the past six years, Bloom’s Angelshas raised and given back more than $10,000 to help students and families inneed of assistance. “It was exciting to see our community come together andsupport such a wonderful cause.  I’m surethis will become a Herrick tradition and one that we should all be very proudto support,” said Bloom's Angels co-founder Gail Pistello. For more information about Bloom’s Angels, visit Herrick’swebsite, www.dg58.org/he, or e-mail gpistello@dg58.org.

 

Fairmount hosts 'Hat Day' for hurricane relief

In response to the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, the Fairmount Student Council sponsored a “Hat Day" for hurricane relief. Students were allowed to wear hats in school all day November 9 for a $1 donation. The money collected will be sent to the American Red Cross/ Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund. "Our hearts here at Fairmount go out to the numerous communities in multiple states along the Eastern seaboard of the United States who are suffering as a result of this historic storm. I am proud to see our students recognizing a need to help others and then putting together a plan to try and make a difference," said Principal Tony Coglianese.

 

Click here for more fabulous Fairmount hat photos!