Willow Hill Elementary School staff and students held a Trike-a-thon on April 30^th and May 1^st to help raise funds for the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and the ongoing fight against childhood catastrophic diseases.

The Trike-a-thon was designed to teach preschool students how to use riding toys safely and to provide a parent awareness program that involves parents in safe behavior practices to help ensure their child’s well being.

Willow Hill Elementary School’s preschool and enrichment programs sponsored the event, as well as the sixth grade book buddies who helped raise funds by hosting their own

Math-a-thon. Total funds raised for St. Jude’s through the Trike-a-thon and Math-a-thon was $1,672.70.

Willow Hill Elementary School has been raising funds for St. Jude’s for the past three years. The idea to help St. Jude’s came about while Preschool Teacher Cindy Witkowski was working at another school and had a student die of cancer.

“We are always trying to teach the children to think of others and to perform acts of kindness,” comments Witkowski. “The Trike-a-thon is a great way to learn bike safety and to help sick children at the same time.”

St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, based in Memphis, Tennessee, is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. St. Jude’s freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St. Jude’s in financially supported by ALSAC (American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities), its fundraising organization, through events such as Trike-a-thons.

To make a donation to St. Jude’s or for more information call Cindy Witkowski at 933-8561 or visit www.stjude.org/trike.