CLASSES RAISING MONEY FOR LUKEMIA

A penny saved just might be a pizza earned for students at St. Mary's Cathedral Grade School.

The class that collects the largest amount to donate to leukemia research by Friday will win a pizza party courtesy of Domino's Pizza.

"I got involved because my father died of leukemia when I was in the sixth grade," said Mary Burger, sixth-grade teacher and program coordinator at St. Mary's. "I saw an opportunity to do something for leukemia and I jumped on it."

The Pizza for Pennies program raises funds and awareness for the Leukemia Society of America. The program, which is in its second year, runs from Nov. 4 through Friday.

"This program is an extension of our Pasta for Pennies program that runs in the St. Louis area," said Tina Eckert, program chairman for the Gateway chapter of the Leukemia Society of America. "It's a $100,000 fund-raiser benefiting leukemia research."

Schools involved in the program encourage students to gather spare change at home and turn it in during class each morning. To make the program more fun and educational, teachers incorporate the pennies into everyday subjects. At the end of the collection period, all of the money is counted, and the class with the largest amount wins the pizza party.

"We have 199 students participating in grades kindergarten through eighth grade," said Burger. "We've collected over $360 so far."

Burger said some classes are trying to pad their collections by doing extra projects. "Some are also having bake sales, and my class is having a class auction," she said.

The cure rate for leukemia has increased from fewer than 3 percent in the early 1960s to nearly 78 percent today. Many treatments first discovered through leukemia research are now being used to fight other types of cancer as well.

"The students are really getting into it, and I'm glad," Burger said. "I thought this was a good way for us to give back."