Oak Point students raise $42,474.24 to combat cancer

Penny by penny, students at Oak Point Intermediate School in Eden Prairie, MN, raised an incredible $42,474.24 through Pennies for Patients, making them the top fundraiser nationwide in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) School & Youth Programs.

Across the United States and Canada, more than 26,000 schools – more than 15 million students from kindergarten to high school – participated in the programs during the 2010-11 school year, raising a record-breaking $25 million. Students participating in Pennies for Patients or Olive Garden's Pasta for Pennies collect spare change to help fund research seeking cures for blood cancer, including leukemia, which causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults under the age of 20. The funds also support LLS's patient services programs.

Close behind Oak Point was last year's top fundraiser, Warren High School in Los Angeles, which raised $42,216.97. The other top schools were Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, MD, with $38,780.30; Mount Pisgah Christian School in Atlanta with $31,511.94; and Watertown Middle School in Natick, MA, with $28,466.48.

Students at Oak Point, which was runner up last year and winner the year before, teamed up for many fun events such as Superman Ice Cream Day, Hat Day and Penny Wars. The students also held events at local restaurants. In over ten years of participating in Pennies for Patients, the Oak Point students have raised $210,000.

"The students learned the importance of giving to others while having fun," said teacher and School & Youth program coordinator Mark Wavinak.