Students Raise Funds for Cancer and Japan

Inspired by the tragic and untimely death of some local students from cancer, fifth grade students from Seely Place and Greenville Elementary Schools became interested in learning how they could help children who are suffering with cancer.

With the help of parent Jill Abraham, several children from both schools joined together to form Caring Kids Curing Cancer (CKCC), a group dedicated to raising money and awareness for pediatric cancer. One of the first pieces of information we received was that for every $1 the U.S. government contributes to cancer for adults, pediatric cancer only receives one cent. Working to make a change was a unanimous decision.

Two years later, we are still going strong and we have become an official Edgemont Club. We have held many great fundraisers and have learned so much about this topic. Our most recent trip was to Montefiore Hospital, a hospital with a fantastic pediatric cancer program. Our friend, Dr. Siobhan Dolan, who works at Montefiore and was able to help make our trip possible. During our visit, we met with Meghan D. Kelly, MSEd, CCLSDirector, Child Life Program and Carl Sagan Discovery Program.

Caring Kids Curing Cancer, presented the Montefiore pediatric cancer unit with a $500 gift card to refill their art supply closet, which they use to ensure that children with cancer will be happy and comfortable while they are being cured. In return, we were presented with a massive amount of knowledge, which has further extended our understanding about the cause and given us more opportunities to help out in the future.

For upcoming projects, we plan to support pediatric cancer at Montefiore by donating more supplies, such as gift cards, books, and baby toys. Each child treated at Montefiore is looked upon as a normal child. The gift cards we plan to donate will be given to the cancer patients to ensure a happy birthday or other holiday. Baby toys and books are a few of the many supplies that the Montefiore staff allow their patients to keep as their own, so the supply is always running low. We look forward to helping the patients at Montefiore and change the lives of children with cancer.

Please keep a close eye out for the many projects that CKCC will organize in the future. We are determined to work hard until pediatric cancer is eradicated forever.

Submitted by Emma Cunningham, 7th Grade Student, Edgemont Jr. High School

The Scarsdale High School Tri-M Music Honor Society held a benefit concert on Sunday, March 27th in the high school Music Tower to raise funds to assist Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake. Over $800.00 was raised. High school students performed on various instruments including, piano, harp, violin, flute and cello and there were a variety of singers performing classical, jazz, rock and Broadway selections. The concert was very well received. John Cuk is the faculty advisor for the Tri-M Society and the student officers are Jun Sasamuro, Greg Seiden, Andrew Wang, Rachel Halperin, and Olivia Harris.

Here is a list of Sunday’s performers and the program:

• Andrew Wang: vocalist sang In a Sentimental Mood and All of Me
• Greg Seiden and Rachel Halperin: vocalists sang A Whole New World
  
• Cindy Du: piano: played Sonata in B flat by Clementi
  
• Tara Kantor: flute: played Syrinx by Debussy
  
• Joseph Louie: violin, Yalini Pathmakumar: violin, Jun Sasamura: cello and Jessica Li: piano played Divertimento in C Major by Haydn
  
• Sarah Roth: harp played Interlude by Britten
• Jacob Kirshenbaum: piano played Concerto for Piano #1 in C Major by Beethoven
  

Submitted by Andrew Wang, student at Scarsdale High School