Lake Catholic High School donated thousands of dollars worth of toys, coloring books and other items to University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital for kids undergoing cancer treatment.
The students donated the items to the Angie Fowler Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Institute on Monday. The campaign to raise money started in September during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The collection began on Sept. 22 at the school's homecoming football game and was spearheaded by the cheerleading team. A second collection was held on Sept. 26 by the volleyball team with a 50/50 raffle where everyone was asked to donate.
Students and staff donated $800 to the drive and, in total, were able to give more than $4,400 worth of items to the hospital.
The school's director of advancement, Carla Ronnebaum, was the motivation behind the campaign. Five years ago, her daughter Clare was diagnosed with brain cancer, the school said. Ronnebaum is a 2000 graduate of the school.
Instead of having money raised for her family, Ronnebaum asked that money be collected to be used to buy various children's toys and art supplies that would instead "daughter’s, and all other children’s, trip to the hospital for treatment a little easier."
“I always tell people how incredible Lake Catholic is, but this community has blown me away with their outpouring of support for children, just like my daughter, facing cancer,” Ronnebaum said. “I am filled with gratitude to the cheerleaders who are bringing light into a dark situation. The crafts and toys my daughter plays with when visiting Rainbow Babies and Children Hospital bring her so much joy – and now hundreds of more children will get to experience this same joy because of the generosity of the Lake Catholic community.”
You can watch previous coverage of the campaign below:
Lake Catholic junior cheerleader Izzy Trem said she was happy to help and glad their work could make a difference.
“We want to make it as big as possible to help all the kids. We want to make it an annual thing, raise even more money next year, and bring the toys to the kids again. Hopefully, it’ll help them have a positive attitude going into their treatments because they have something to look forward to instead of it being such a negative place for them,” Trem said.
Lake Catholic senior cheerleader Emily Aliff said the community rallied behind the cause.
"Collecting money was so amazing to see how many people were willing to donate and how excited they were. They kept thanking us for doing this. It was so nice to see everyone rally around and be so happy and excited about something," Aliff said.
The hospital said it's nice to see the students working together for the children's benefit.
“As a proud graduate of Lake Catholic High School, it is heartwarming to see the generous spirit of students working together to give back to the patients and families we care for at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital,” said Marlene R. Miller, MD, MSc, pediatrician-in-chief, and Marsha L. Antonucci, Distinguished Chair of Pediatrics at UH Rainbow and a 1983 of Lake Catholic.
You can watch more of News 5's previous coverage below:
