Hamburg School collects ‘Pennies for Patients'

Hamburg — Students at Hamburg Public School will be emptying the change jar to help raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Pennies for Patients fundraiser from Feb. 2 through 27. According to the organization, this fundraiser “gives the students a tremendous opportunity to learn, first-hand, the powerful feeling that comes from doing something to help others.” The Hamburg multiply handicapped class, along with the assistance of the preschool disabled class, will be collecting and counting money, charting the school’s progress and delivering the money boxes. Hamburg Public School has a local “honored hero,” Erin Cahalin, who spoke with the students during their kickoff assembly that was held on Jan. 8. An Honored Hero is a local child who is fighting leukemia. This brings the message home to the schoolchildren in a very personal way. Funds raised through Pennies for Patients go toward funding research, education and patient services to find cures for leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s disease. All students have been asked to bring in pennies, spare change or any other monetary contribution during the three-week fundraiser to help the school meet its goal of $500. The top three overall fundraising schools and the top three schools per number of students are eligible to win prizes including a video camera, digital camera and printer. Students who donate a minimum of $50 (to be brought in a separate envelope labeled with the student’s name) will be entered to win a Nintendo Wii. Get involved To make a personal donation online, go to schoolandyouth.org/nnj. For information about local programs and services of the Northern New Jersey Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society call 908-956-6600 or visit the lls.org.