Lakeview 'March to the Cure' raises funds for JDRF

Last month the hallways at Lakeview were filled with paper shoes as the school's "March to the Cure" drive raised $627.70 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The drive kicked off in late February with a note home to students explaining the fundraiser and JDRF. A group of five sixth graders chose to call the fundraiser "March to the Cure" since it would be going into the month of March. The students helped count out the letters and paper shoes for each classroom and put them in teachers' mailboxes with a note of explanation. They traveled to 14 classrooms, and each of the student helpers had an opportunity to present about diabetes and JDRF to a class.

As funds were collected, the paper shoes were hung in the hallways starting by the main office. The students spoke on the daily announcements encouraging everyone to donate. They also put up shoes in the hall, wrote weekly announcements, kept count of the number of shoes collected, drew posters and helped with the bulletin board in the gym, which was the finish line. Five other Lakeview students also helped put up shoes and counted and distributed JDRF bookmarks to students.

"As our path on the baseboard from the front office to the gym got longer, the enthusiasm grew," said school nurse Judi Connor, who worked with the students on the fundraiser. "It was beautiful to witness our student's compassion, and their support of the students in our school that have Type 1 diabetes."