Plum Grove change collection adds up to big support

Collecting pennies and small change, really can add up. Just ask students at Plum Grove Junior High School in Rolling Meadows.

A penny collection started five years ago there, in honor of a teacher's daughter with leukemia, has turned into a state leading effort.

Earlier this month, students at the school were named the No. 1 fundraising school in the state, by officials with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Last year alone, they collected $15,144.31, and more than $50,000 over the last five years.

"That's huge for us," says Cassandra Young, special events campaign manager for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Ironically, the school that finished second in the state, Walter R. Sundling Junior High School in Palatine is also in Palatine Township Elementary District 15. Its students collected more than $9,000.

Even better news is that the student that inspired them, Teagen Reid of Palatine, is now in eighth grade at Plum Grove Junior High, having reached her fifth year of being in remission.

She celebrated in January with classmates at a party thrown at the Lamplighter Inn in Palatine. Among the people attending was the unrelated bone marrow donor from Texas, who was a perfect match and wound up saving Teagen's life.

Teagen's mother, Maura Reid, teaches history at the Plum Grove Junior High, while her father, Kyle Reid, is the resource director at Winston Campus in Palatine.

"I started the campaign here, where Teagen was first diagnosed," Maura Reid says.

Now, Teagen participates in the school's choir and service club, and also has turned out to be of the leading fundraisers in the school's campaign. She alone collected nearly $3,000, mostly donated by extended family members who responded to her compelling letter.

Students at both Plum Grove and Sundling participated in the Illinois Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's "Pennies for Patients" program. Since its inception, the campaign has raised $100 million nationally for blood cancer research and patient services.

Last year, Plum Grove students led the more than 400 schools in the state that participated. Their efforts combined to raise $375,000, Young adds.

ACCO Brands Corporation was a major sponsor of the student campaign. Officials were on hand in Rolling Meadows to present students with a package of office products and school supplies for their efforts.

But the rewards seem to go beyond their prizes. With a student in their midst who has benefited from leukemia research, the power to change does seem within their grasp.

"It's just so refreshing," Young says, "to see that kids can make such a huge impact."