March 24, 1999

Math challenge helps St. Jude's

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
       How many 10-year-olds would choose to do math story problems in their spare time? Not one or a dozen problems, but hundreds of them at one sitting?
      For 22 fifth graders in Central Grade School's Talented and Gifted program, what sounds like a joke was actually a way for them to raise money to help catastrophically ill children at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The students participated in a Math-A-Thon last month and raised $1,070 by having sponsors pledge money for each math problem completed correctly.
      Taking a few hours over a ten-day period, participants worked through 250 math problems in a Funbook provided by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Problems for fifth graders included fractions, greater than and less than, story problems and puzzles. Parents were involved, too, by checking the students' answers and helping to collect the money afterward.
      "Math is not my favorite subject but it is okay," said Molly Kring, a fifth grade student in the TAG program. "It wasn't that hard and I won a boom box for raising the most money."
      Kring was the top fundraiser among the classes, generating $123.42, by correctly completing 242 problems. She called all her relatives and garnered seven pledges; even a pledge of five cents a problem meant $12.10. All students raising more than $35 received a certificate, one ticket to Six Flags and a T-shirt; those raising more than $75 also receive a sports bag.
      "I'm surprised at how much money we raised," said Tamara Rushovich, the second highest fundraiser who raised $88.50 from five pledges. "I liked helping out."
      Jody Meyers, one of the two fifth grade teachers whose class participated in the event, was pleased at the response from her students and plans to conduct the fundraiser again next year.
      "I didn't know what to expect from this," Meyers said. "I'm proud of them, they did it totally for someone else. It wasn't earning money for themselves or for a class trip or for something that would benefit them directly."
      Meyers heard about he program from Central Grade School principle Sharon Dionne, who had participated with it when she was a teacher. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital sponsors the Math-A-Thon to allow children to help other children directly and Dionne asked her teachers if they would like to partipate this year.
      The St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a non-profit organization dedicated to studying catastrophic children's diseases including cancer, the number one killing disease of children, sickle cell anemia and pediatric AIDS. They conduct research and treat more than 5,000 children a year, paying for treatment for children without insurance coverage. The funds from the Math-A-Thon go to an endowment fund to help pay for these research and treatment programs.
      The Math-A-Thon is available to students of any age because the Funbooks are geared to each grade level, allowing even kindergarten students to participate. If a whole school participates, they can work to win prizes such as calculators, a television, a VCR or a laser printer.
      "I've been teaching for eight years and I'd never heard of this program," Meyers said. "They sent promotional materials and videos, the Funbooks and the kids can win prizes. It's a great program."