ESA chapter raises math awareness and funds for St. Jude

Building math skills can do a lot of good for more than just the students who practice them.

Delta Delta Chapter of Ulysses, KS, along with the help of  The Sullivan School, raised an outstanding $6,100 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through its 2010-11 Math-a-thon fundraiser event.

Math-a-thon, which has been around for more than 30 years, is an event designed to raise money for St. Jude while assisting students in improving their math skills. Each participating student takes home a book filled with math problems, and collects sponsorships from parents, family and friends. Once the students have collected their pledges, they complete the math problems in the provided books.

Delta Delta members are involved in the entire process. Karen Stinson and Tammi Mitchell, chapter members and school employees, are coordinators for the event.

“As a chapter, we get together and count out the forms, so they are easy for us to pass out,” Stinson said in an e-mail. “Four or five come and help count the money. Others help us get the t-shirts and other prizes organized by class so they are easier to pass out.”

Staff members at The Sullivan School have been extremely helpful in orchestrating the event.

“Our teachers are very willing to pass out the information for us. Several of them sponsor every student within their classroom who participates,” Stinson said. “Our secretaries are willing to collect the envelopes for us and keep them locked up in the office until we are ready to count.”

The success of the event depends much on reaching the students throughout the entire school. Stinson said the Math-a-thon video is shown to all students at the beginning of the day when the program is launched, and letters are sent home to parents in English and Spanish.

“We do pass out the prizes in the morning before students are dismissed to their classes so everyone can be in on the celebrations,” Stinson said.

According to Stinson, Delta Delta has been participating in Math-a-thon for 12 years. All the thank-you plaques from St. Jude are displayed in the trophy case at the school so that students see them every day on their way to lunch.

We are so grateful to The Sullivan School staff and students for their assistance! And we are so proud of Delta Delta for their considerable time and effort put in to helping St. Jude!