Alamo Elementary Students Raise Over $6,000 for Lazarex Cancer Foundation

Announcement, photo submitted by San Ramon Valley Unified School District:

Inspired by an elementary student fighting cancer, students at Alamo Elementary raised over $6,000 in two weeks through a coin drive to help the young girl with her treatment. The students formally presented the check to Dana Dornsife, President of Lazarex Cancer Foundation on Tuesday, April 14, 2015.

With just over 300 students, this small but tight knit community of K-5th grade students were inspired by the story of Nevaeh, who at the age of 4 in 2011, was diagnosed with stage IV high risk neuroblastoma cancer. A Thorton, CA resident, Nevaeh and her family travel the 170 mile roundtrip to San Francisco every month for treatment with the help of the Lazarex Foundation.

“The experience was tremendous. It was an opportunity for our students to learn about the world outside of our community and our school. It’s a skill to care about others and to find ways to take action to make those ideas come true,” said Alamo Principal Stanley Hitomi. “The Lazarex experience was a priceless one.”

The student fundraising effort began with an assembly which featured speaker San Francisco Giants Pitcher and Lazarex Ambassador Jeremy David Affeldt. Students heard about Nevaeh’s story and were touched by the challenges faced by this elementary young lady.

“I felt really good about the program because we are helping someone in need who is just like us,” said Joshua Leinenweaver, a 4th grader at Alamo Elementary.

Photo #1: Alamo students Amy Bone, Joshua Leinenweaver, Claire Philips, Ashton Galera.