Scott City students' efforts are adding up

Students at the Scott City School District have raised nearly $100,000 over the years to benefit the patients of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital by participating in the annual Math-A-Thon fundraiser.

And during the next few weeks, elementary students will be doing their part to make sure that amount keeps climbing.

For more than 35 years, the St. Jude Math-A-Thon has been America's largest education-based fundraiser.

To participate, kindergarten through eighth-grade students ask family and friends for pledges to solve math problems in the Math-A-Thon Funbook, developed by Scholastic.

Since 1979, the event has raised more than $450 million, connecting with an average of 300,000 children per year, according to St. Jude.

Nancy Caldwell, a retired Scott City teacher, has been involved with St. Jude for 40 years. Caldwell organized Bike-A-Thons at the school district, then switched to organizing Math-A-Thons in 2001.

She had been to St. Jude a couple times for volunteer days and later was asked to help raise funds.

"It just twists your heart and you can't hardly say no to them," she said. "I'm really glad I got involved."

Caldwell will go to the school this week to encourage students to participate in the Math-A-Thon. Parents will be asked to sign a permission form before their students begin fundraising.

All of the students will have a math booklet to take home, she said. But they can participate online at mathathon.org, where donations also can be made to sponsor a student.

Caldwell has set a fundraising goal of $10,000. She said about $5,000 is needed to reach the district's $100,000 mark.

The students work for prizes, she said, but they also are driven by a desire to help others.

"They get so interested," she said, "and they work their little hearts out trying to help kids with cancer."

klamb@semissourian.com

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