Students at Royal Oaks Elementary School in Kannapolis raised more than $2,000 this year to help children with leukemia, a type of blood cancer.
Principal Rick Seaford and the Girls on the Run team presented a check for $2,042.29 to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) on May 29.
The Girls on the Run team chose “Pasta for Pennies” as their service project to support Royal Oaks’ year-long focus on kindness and compassion through Rachel’s Challenge.
The girls organized and distributed materials, made posters, set-up an information table at Field Day, made daily morning announcements and tracked daily collections in each classroom. The class that brought in the most money during the three week project received lunch from the Concord Olive Garden.
The Royal Oaks Elementary Girls on the Run team members are Jayda Riffle, Kayla Ball, Avery Warren, Alyssa Lepley, Dominique Salazar, Lauren Harrison, Reese Kessler, Tehya Wagner, Alexandria Salazar, Amaya Douglas, Chasity Jackson, Alivia Hoskie, Geraldine Alvarado and Melody Gallego.
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society school and youth programs, “Pasta for Pennies” and its sister program “Pennies for Patients,” are designed to teach children the value of community service in a fun way.
Students all over the U.S. spend three weeks any time during the school year collecting spare change and creating special events to raise money in their school as part of the Pennies project. LLS provides all materials for the project, including a series of lesson plans for teachers to use in the classroom as part of their service learning and character education curriculum.
Pasta for Pennies is so named because of the participation of Olive Garden restaurants, who donate a “Hospitaliano!” luncheon to the top class at any school in their community that participates in Pasta for Pennies.
People can register for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s school and youth programs at www.schoolandyouth.org.
Teachers, parents and school administrators may also call their local LLS chapter for more information. Robin Shaw works with Pasta for Pennies in Charlotte at 704-756-2783, and Jenny Wayne manages the program in the LLS Chapter office in Cary at, 919-367-4074.