For Immediate Release

Preston Veterans Memorial School students raise $3,834 through St. Jude Math-A-Thon® to help kids battling cancer

Contact: Heather Benoit

Phone Number: 860-887-3113 X232

Preston, CT 4/20/12 – Students at Preston Veterans Memorial School recently participated in the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® Math-A-Thon program and raised $3,834 to help kids battling cancer and other deadly diseases.

“We are so proud of our students for embracing Math-A-Thon and raising critical funds for St. Jude,” said Heather, coordinator of the event. “Every dollar raised will help support the St. Jude mission of finding cures and saving children in communities worldwide.”

Since its inception more than 30 years ago, Math-A-Thon has become one of America’s largest education-based fundraisers. More than 10,000 schools across the country participate in the program every year. Math-A-Thon is also one of the most successful fundraising campaigns for St. Jude, having raised nearly $400 million since its inception.

Math-A-Thon allows students to build and practice essential math skills while they raise funds for kids battling cancer at St. Jude. The program works in the following way: Teachers serve as volunteer coordinators for Math-A-Thon at their school. Participating students solve math problems in a printed or online Funbook. Students ask family and friends for donations in support of their participation in the Math-A-Thon. All donations are sent to St. Jude, where no child is ever turned away because of the family’s inability to pay.

St. Jude has teamed up with Scholastic Inc. to make Math-A-Thon a more valuable resource for teachers as they prepare students for standardized testing. The Math-A-Thon Funbooks contain colorful activities developed by Scholastic Inc. The activities support National Standards and are aligned to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) focal points for each grade level from K–8. The online version of the Funbook allows students to complete grade-specific activities like those offered in the print version but in an engaging game format that tracks points for the student.

For more information on how to host your own Math-A-Thon event, call 1-800-FUNBOOK

(386-2665) or visit www.mathathon.org.

About St. Jude

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization. For more information, go to www.stjude.org.