Brandon Schools – In addition to sharpening their math skills, Belle Ann students? totalled up more than $5,000 for the children and families of St. Jude Hospital.
Once again the Belle Ann students participated in the program to help raise money for the families of children receiving treatment at St. Jude Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, for various forms of cancer.
Math-A-Thon dollars also support cancer research for children.
For more than 18 years Belle Ann students have participated in the Math-A-Thon, collecting more than $75,000 for St. Jude’s.
‘We (initially) got involved in the program after one of our students passed from cancer,? said Mark Rodak, Principal of Belle Ann Elementary who sang praises for the students consistently exceeding the $5,000 mark every year for the research program.
‘St. Jude knows who we are and appreciate our help,? Rodak said.
Over one-third of Belle Ann students participated in the fund raiser, finding sponsors to pledge money for each math problem they solved.
Rodak says that students receive gifts such as T-shirts, passes to amusement parks, and school tote bags, while sharpening their math skills, the greatest gift they receive is knowing they have helped children who are seriously ill.
‘The most important thing they are learning is that they are helping children ? and you can’t do better than that,? he said.