Students Raise $28.7 Million to Beat Cancer

Maryland school is top fundraiser in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's School & Youth Programs

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May 24, 2012, 02:24 ET

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Making every cent count, students at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Md., raised an incredible $59,029.54 through Pennies for Patients, making them the top fundraiser nationwide in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's School & Youth Programs.

Across the United States and Canada, 27,482 schools – more than 15.8 million students from kindergarten to high school – participated in the programs during the 2011-12 school year, raising a record-breaking $28.7 million. Students participating in Pennies for Patients or Pasta for Pennies presented by Olive Garden collect spare change to help fund research seeking cures for blood cancer, including leukemia, which causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults under the age of 20. The funds also support LLS's patient services programs.

Close behind Walter Johnson was Walt Whitman High School, also in Bethesda, with $51,050. The other top schools were Watertown Middle School in Watertown, Mass., with $29,323; William Mason High School in Mason, Ohio raised $25,754 through Olive Garden's Pasta for Pennies; Beckendorff Jr. High School in Katy, TX with $25,126; and Oak Point School in Eden Prairie, Minn. with $24,242.

Among the activities students at Walter Johnson High School participated in to raise funds included a movie night, a Family Feud competition and a black light glow dance.

Walter Johnson High School's student government president Jake Karlin attributes their continued success to the students' incredible philanthropic spirit.

"Many high schools have traditions that carry over from year to year," Karlin said. "Pennies for Patients has not only become an important tradition at Walter Johnson, but something that unites our student body. I have no doubt that future Walter Johnson students will stay committed to the cause."

Since its inception in 1994 School & Youth Programs have raised more than $203 million.

Registering your school for LLS's School and Youth programs is fast and easy at www.schoolandyouth.org

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society ® (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world and provides free information and support services.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in White Plains, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org or contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. www.lls.org.

Contact:
Andrea Greif
914-821-8958
[email protected]

SOURCE The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society