Math-A-Thon raises over $4,000 for St. Jude

WEBUTUCK — Fifteen years in the running, Webutuck’s participation in the Math-A-Thon fundraising program continues to exceed expectations, and this year more than $4,000 was raised to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Math-A-Thon is a volunteer-based program that develops a student’s academic skills as well as his or her sense of community service. Students are given age-appropriate workbooks filled with 250 mathematical problems. It’s then their responsibility to find sponsors. A penny per problem would earn a student $2.50 per sponsor, for example, while a dime would raise $25.

At Webutuck, the Math-A-Thon program has been organized by third-grade teacher Joan Smith for the past 15 years. Over that time, different grade combinations have been involved in the project. This is the first time that children from kindergarten through sixth grade have all participated.

Normally, Smith said, the Math-A-Thon would have between 20 and 30 participants. But this year 50 students put their math skills to good use, producing a note-worthy average of about $80 per student.

“It’s great to know the children were doing it to help other children, especially in a time when money is tight,†Smith said. “I’ve been really impressed.â€

Smith also credited fifth-grade teacher Brian Geraghty for getting the upper grades involved.

Prizes are usually awarded by St. Jude to the highest earner per school, but this year a wider range of  students were included. Raising $35 earned participants a T-shirt and a free pass to Six Flags; anyone who raised $75 got the T-shirt, Six Flags pass and a book bag. The top prize, awarded to anyone raising more than $125, was anything from a dart board to a CD player, depending on the student’s preference. Webutuck’s Math-A-Thon ran from mid-November to Christmas, and prizes were awarded to students last week.

Over the course of the program’s run at Webutuck, Smith said that more than $25,000 has been raised for St. Jude, the largest childhood cancer research center in the world in terms of patients enrolled in research protocols and successfully treated, according to its Web site. No child is ever turned away from medical assistance because of a family’s inability to pay.

“It’s an excellent program,†said Smith, who said the Math-A-Thon will definitely be around next year. “It’s good academically, and on top of that all this is done with the children knowing that they’re helping.â€

Visit mathathon.org for more information on national fundraising efforts.

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