School's raised over $10,000 since 2010 to fund St. Jude medical research
Students at Treasure Preschool circle the parking lot at Cheney's United Church of Christ to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Debbie Anderson makes sure her son Ollie is properly hydrated during last Friday's Trike-A-Thon.
Round and round the three-wheelers go, and when they stop, Rachel Showalter knows.
"They go until they're just too pooped out," the teacher and owner of Treasure Preschool said about the school's annual "Trike-A-Thon" fundraiser.
The preschool, which rents space in Cheney's United Church of Christ, has held the event in the church's parking lot the past six years, raising money to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Showalter said last year they surpassed the $10,000 mark, which in theory is generated through students getting monetary pledges for every lap they ride, but are really donations from friends and family.
"Every year my donations have increased from families," Showalter said.
Treasure Preschool students, ages 3 – 5, spend two weeks prior to the ride talking about the importance of practicing bicycle and tricycle safety. Just as important is getting the students to understand that what they are doing is helping other kids like themselves, but who are facing life-threatening and life-changing illnesses.
St. Jude's opened in February 1962 in Memphis, Tenn. According to the hospital's website, its first success in treating disease in children came in 1965 when researchers developed the first immunologic method to diagnose solid tumors in children.
In 1966, a group of patients at St. Jude became the first acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients to ever be successfully taken off therapy based on evidence that remission of the disease could be sustained. Last year, the hospital opened the world's first proton therapy center dedicated to treating children with cancer.
Friday morning at UCC, Treasure Preschool students mounted a variety of three- and two-wheeled cycles and circled small cones in the parking lot in support of these efforts. The kids kept their efforts going for a good 45 minutes or more, pausing periodically to stay hydrated, chat and receive encouragement from family and friends, and pick themselves up from the occasional crash or fall.
"I bring lots of band aids," Showalter said.
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
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