Making service a learning experience
School is out for most suburban students. Students and teachers at Pleasantdale Middle School in Burr Ridge marked their last school day of 2022-2023 with a party with a purpose.
On June 2, they celebrated raising $11,000 for American Cancer Society in a 15th annual Relay For Life walk/run at nearby Walker Park.
This year's donations, raised partially through lawn mowing and selling baked goods and candy, brought their 15-year donations total to $106,000.
The school's first walk raised $100.
Some 350 students and teachers took part in the 2023 walk by running or walking on a hiking trail at the park.
Lisle resident Jennifer Lauermann, 5th-grade science teacher at Pleasantdale, inaugurated and continues to lead the effort. She lost her father to cancer.
Lauermann, 47, announced relay results at a rally culminating the event.
Stoked by recorded music and bottled water, attendees walked or ran a hiking trail at the park.
"We honor the lives lost to cancer, celebrate survivors and support the caregivers who so selflessly help others," Lauermann said.
Thank you, Pleasantdale students and teachers.
Allan Benson
Aurora