Middle School Students Raise $1,250 to Fight Cancer

Surrounded by smiling co-workers, Jessica Hallin puckered up, closed her eyes and kissed Franky, the Inver Grove Heights Middle School’s pet lizard.

The reptilian smooch didn’t faze Hallin, a sixth-grade social studies teacher. After all, it was for a good cause. Earlier this month, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students raised more than $1,250 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as part of the school’s “Have a Heart Week.”

Hallin and another teacher, Jen Chappuis, swore they would kiss Franky if sixth grade students alone raised more than $300. They were followed by two other teachers, Jon Albrecht and Mike LeMier, who promised to dye their beards pink if the sixth grade collected $600. The incentives worked: All four teachers had to follow through on their promises on Friday, Feb. 18, after the sixth grade raised more than $650.

“The kids loved it,” said Hallin. “For me, it was just exciting to see how excited they were.”

The idea for Have a Heart Week started last fall, when the Service Learning Club, a student group at the middle school, decided to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through “Pennies for Patients” — a nationwide fundraising campaign organized by the society. The decision was a personal one for the students. At the time, five of their classmates were dealing with or in remission from cancer, said Hallin, the coordinator for the Service Learning Club.

“Because so many of the kids here are related to or are friends with some of the students that have cancer, they knew that was a hot topic,” Hallin said.

The students originally set out to raise $2,700, using classroom collections and a series of special activities scheduled throughout Have a Heart Week that students could participate in, if they paid a fee.

For example, students could pay $1 to bring snacks to their last class of the day on Feb. 14. Teachers also allowed the grades to wear slippers to school on Feb. 16, as long as they paid a $1 fee. Although the students fell short of their ambitious goal, the amount the school raised over the course of a week still surprised many of the students and teachers, according to Hallin. The proceeds will be used for cancer research and to assist cancer patients, Hallin said.

“It feels good to help other kids,” said seventh-grader Tasha Bell, a member of the Service Learning Club who helped organize the fundraiser. “We wanted to help them out too, and then we just thought of others that might need help, and so we thought we’d raise for everybody.”

The sixth grade raised the most money during the fundraiser, but the seventh- and eighth-graders at the school also did their fair share of fundraising, collecting $350 and $300, respectively.

“Just to know that we were a part of the creation of this whole week and to know that we helped raise all that money felt good,” classmate and fellow Service Club Member Dillon Eddy said. “It just feels good to be able to give money and help people that you know whoa re dealing with cancer or are coming out of cancer.”