QE raises $12,000 for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Quakertown Elementary School raised a record $12,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. During the six-week fundraiser for the LLS Hero Squad Program, which raises money for childhood blood cancer patients, QE, with fewer than 300 students, shattered its goal of $2,021.

“This has certainly been a silver lining in a difficult school year caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Principal Dr. Michael Zackon said. “For the past six weeks, helping others less fortunate than ourselves has been something that our kids have been looking forward to and asking about. It has kept smiles on the kids’ faces, behind the masks.”

Dr. Zackon praised QE teachers and staff for their extraordinary efforts during the fundraiser, specifically naming Alicia Bolks and Christa Held. “As usual, they have gone above and beyond to help make this happen,” he said. Mrs. Held said QE has “continued to drive home with our kiddos the importance of helping others and that together we can make a difference.”

QE’s theme this year was “How lucky are we” The fundraiser began on February 1st with hallways filled with hearts and shamrocks. In addition to monetary donations, students and staff participated in various fundraising opportunities that included: weekly heavyweight challenge, Valentine candy grams, Lucky Loot grams, and QE spirit wear. For the heavyweight challenge, students brought in coins and dollars to be weighed as a class each Friday. All of the collected money was put on a scale and totaled up. Each paper dollar donated counted as a pound. To kick off the fundraiser, the school held a spirit week, and each Friday focused on how lucky they are. “It’s amazing to look back and see how over the past six weeks, our QE family has grown stronger as we have put ourselves aside to come together and help others,” Mrs. Held said.