Lundahl Middle School Exceeds $10,000 Fundraising Goal

Lundahl Middle School is taking an active stand against childhood cancer. This year, through the efforts of students, staff and parents, the school raised $10,723 for the Pasta for Pennies campaign benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). According to LLS, Lundahl has raised $61,000 in total since 2012 and has been named one of the organization’s top fundraising schools in the state.

"There is power in numbers -- and there is power in our youth, as the students of Lundahl Middle School demonstrate year after year with their support of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society,” said Pam Swenk, executive director. “Through their fundraising, the students and families of Lundahl have raised enough money to fund a researcher -- one that might just find a cure to cancer. That’s the difference Lundahl is making. Thank you to the students and their families, the teachers and the staff for making someday today."

Eighth grader David Welte Hart has been involved with the Pennies for Pasta fundraiser for the past several years. As Lundahl student council president at the end of seventh grade, Welte Hart said he had a vision and one goal: to raise $10,000. “It was a goal I knew was going to be difficult to accomplish but definitely not impossible. During the summer before my 8th-grade year, I figured out how much money each class needed to raise and how much each student needed to raise in order to reach our goal.”

When the LLS fundraiser kicked off, Welte Hart said the Lundahl student council came up with a system to track donations and provided weekly updates to determine what was needed. To raise money, they held a classroom challenge and a skate night, sold candy grams and hosted a dance and contest called “Stuck for a Buck,” where students donated money in exchange for the opportunity to duct tape assistant principal Matt Decker to the wall (see photo).

“Once all of our money was counted up and the final number was released, I was ecstatic to hear that we had not only met our goal but went way over it raising a total amount of $10,722.93."

"I am so proud of our staff and students who came together to support this great cause,” noted Angie Compere, Lundahl principal. “This spirit of giving ignited a special energy and joy in our school that I had not seen before and we’re better because of it!”