Sunday, May 25th, 2025 Church Directory
WITH THE HELP OF FELLOW STUDENTS, Clearview student council members raised $738.65 for leukemia with their Pennies for patients fundraiser.

Clearview Students Collect Change To Save Lives

Seven hundred thirty-eight dollars and sixty-five cents is a lot of pennies. That’s how much Clearview Elementary students raised in their recent “Pennies for Patients” fundraiser for leukemia, which ran April 4 -15.
 
The student council decided to hold the fundraiser as another tribute to their classmate, Kayleen Larson, who passed away from leukemia three years ago.
 
Each student received a coin box to collect donations in, and a thermometer was put up at the front of the school so they could see their hard work paying off first hand.
 
Student council advisor Andrea Coulter and student teacher Nathan Pillsbury co-chaired the fundraiser, helping the students make plans and write classroom announcements and challenges. 
 
“It was exciting to see how into the fundraiser the students got,” said Coulter. “They would come in and say they were going to buy candy but decided to put their money into their collection box instead.” 
One student, fourth grader Ricky T., raised over $100 by himself.
 
“Basically I told my mom I had this thing from school, let’s go out and do it!” he explained. “We went to all the neighborhoods. I got some pennies, but mostly I got $5 and $10 [bills].”
 
Second grader Owen M. went on a mission. For three days in a row he asked all the paras (paraprofessionals) and office staff to bring in more pennies. His enthusiasm worked, and he raised a lot of money, too.
 
Grace M, sixth grader and student council president, explained that a big group of student council members went around to all the classes and asked students to participate. They also went around and collected the money raised, along with counting it when the fundraiser was over.
 
“It went really good,” she said. “We honestly needed a brand new bucket to collect all the money for some of the classes because they had raised so much.”
 
Some of the students took the fundraiser literally, bringing their money into the bank and exchanging it for pennies. Any kind of change, dollars, and checks were accepted.
 
“The food drive we had earlier got the students interested in the community and donating,” said Coulter. “Now they’re always willing to give.”
 
“Pennies for Patients” is a national fundraiser sponsored by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). While students collect money to help find cures for blood cancer patients, they learn about service, leadership and philanthropy.
 
With the help of programs like this, LLS has been able to invest more than $1 billion in research to advance therapies that save lives.