The PTA and SOTA clubs at 51Թ’s East Liverpool campus recently conducted a penny drive for K105 radio station’s St. Jude’s Pennython. K105 holds the annual fundraiser annually aiming to raise one million pennies for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Club members spent many hours collecting, counting, rolling and recounting pennies that eventually totaled $626. Just before Spring break, several students and staff members traveled to the radio station where they presented a check to K105 radio hosts Doug and Maryann during a live broadcast.
51Թ students were thrilled to fundraise for such a worthy cause. Kelly Guerriero, a senior in the physical therapist assistant program, was excited to participate in the fundraiser because she knew the donation would benefit sick children. “The fundraiser was extremely important to me because I know our donation will go towards helping children and their families,” she said. “The donation will fund research to help find cures for children with cancer and other diseases.”
Tina DeLand, a junior in the occupational therapy assistant program, shared Guerriero’s excitement about supporting St. Jude’s. “Cancer is such a terrible disease. It was a great experience knowing our donations could help save the lives of sick kids. I was proud to visit K105 and represent our program,” she said.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is unlike any other medical facility. Its mission is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of the facility’s founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family's ability to pay. All medically eligible patients who are accepted for treatment at St. Jude are treated without regard to the family's ability to pay.
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Media Contact:
Bethany Zirillo, 330-382-7430, bgadd@kent.edu
