Lundahl Students Raise Nearly $8K for Leukemia, Lymphoma Society

The principal wandering the halls of a middle school in a cheetah-print prom dress. Cookie auctions in language arts class. A vice-principal duct-taped to the wall of a gymnasium.

The above scenario sounds a bit like chaos, or perhaps a scene from a young adult movie.

Not so.

Instead, all ideas were creative fundraising avenues pursued by Lundahl Middle School teachers, students and administrators as they raised money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) with the School and Youth Pennies for Patients program.

Students at Lundahl Middle School, located at 560 Nash Road in Crystal Lake, raised nearly $8,000 over the three-week campaign, joining hundreds of other schools across Illinois in the Pennies for Patients program.

The money raised will support LLS-funded research into cures for blood cancers, and financial aid and support services for patients dealing with cancer. 

According to student council adviser and teacher Susan Johannesen, homeroom teachers at Lundahl offered creative ways to motivate their classrooms.

One pair of teachers – one a Green Bay Packers fan, the other a Chicago Bears fan – nurtured friendly classroom competition.

“Whichever classroom raised the most won a special prize: the other teacher would put $10 in their donation pool…as they wore the opposing team’s gear,” Johannesen said. 

One language arts teacher allowed her students to hold mini-charity auctions at the end of each class. Her students raised more than $600. Another teacher offered tasty incentives like donuts or pizza once her class hit certain fundraising goals.

Lundahl's student council, which coordinated the school-wide campaign, held special “Fundraising Friday” activities at the school. One Friday, students paid $1 for pieces of duct tape to paste their vice-principal to the gym wall- called “Stuck for a Buck”.

On the final Friday, Lundahl Principal Matthew Grubbs won – or lost, perhaps – a vote. Students donated $1 to vote among several options, and by majority vote selected that Mr. Grubbs should wear a prom dress around school for the  day.

In addition to the fun activities, students were motivated to raise money by the story of a teacher’s aide who lost her husband to leukemia a few years ago.

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Leukemia, a blood cancer, is the most common disease affecting young people under 20.

In 1964, the chance of surviving the most common childhood leukemia was 3%. Today, thanks to research funded by LLS campaigns like the School & Youth Program, the survival rate is 90%.

Blood cancers also affect adults of all ages.

“We are so appreciative to Lundahl Middle School for their efforts,” says LLS executive director Pam Swenk. “Without the commitment of each and every student, and the change collected, we would not be able to invest in the research that is changing the quality of life for people living with cancer.”

For more information about the School & Youth Campaign, or to register your school, please visit www.schoolandyouth.org/il, or contact School & Youth at (312) 651-7358.

Information submitted by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.