Every day, 365 days a year, 43 parents are told their child has cancer. Twelve percent of these children will not survive their battle with cancer. St. Baldrick’s was founded in 1999 to help fight childhood cancer.
“My grandmother passed away in November. I have done [St. Baldrick’s] before, but before I really didn’t have a reason. I just thought it was a great opportunity, but I didn’t have any personal connections. So when my grandma passed away, I knew that I had to do something and I wanted to see if I can get the school involved to raise as much money as possible,” Maya McCants (11) said.
The senior class organized the event. Forty five shavees participated in this year’s assembly, and Lake Central donated $12,193 dollars to the cause. Colin Elliott raised the highest amount of money, racking in $1,045.
“I chose to donate and be a team captain because it is all about doing something that is greater than yourself. I think nothing else is greater than this organization to help kids with cancer,” Parker Bryant (12) said.
Many people in the school have been affected by cancer in some way. When asked to stand up in the gymnasium if they have been affected, hundreds of students stood. It is emotional for some people to think of everything others who have cancer in the past and present go through.
“[I was crying because] when they asked everyone to stand up if they were affected by cancer, it just hurt me deep down because I couldn’t imagine going through what they do and what affects them,” Bryant said.
The school administration plans on participating in the St. Baldrick’s assembly in future years. Next year, they want to aim for double the amount of donors and shavees.
“When we talk about PtE and the lessons learned, this is a life lesson. This is something where we should walk out and we know we are helping the fight to fight. We should be very proud as a school community. It’s something that everyone of our kids can say we can make a difference and people that fight through cancer don’t go through it alone,” Head Principal Sean Begley said.
