Cystic Fibrosis March teaches true meaning of "caring"

How do you teach students the importance of caring? You can tell them about it. You can ask them to write about it. You can have them look it up on the Internet. But sometimes, "doing" is the best teacher.

On Thursday, May 27, Fonda-Fultonville Elementary School PreK-4 students showed the community how much they care as they participated in the school's third annual Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Mini-March to raise money for CF research. The children collected donations from family and friends in the weeks prior to the walk.

Virtually every elementary student stepped out into the sunshine to march two laps around the school's 400-meter track. At the end of the march, first grade teacher Jamie McRedmond took the microphone to share the results of the elementary school fundraising effort. Amidst the happy screams of over 500 students, they learned that they had raised $4,610.56. (Mrs. McRedmond will continue to accept donations through the end of the school year.)

One of the fundraising highlights are the three hat days held prior to the walk. Students pay one dollar to wear their favorite hats for a day. The hat days raised $338.55.

Cystic Fibrosis strikes close to home

Cystic fibrosis is very real to Fonda-Fultonville Elementary School students; two of their classmates have the disease. First-grader Cayden Egelston was diagnosed at birth in 2003 following a state-mandated screening for the disease. Doctors immediately tested his older sister Rhionah who, because neonatal testing had not been required prior to 2002, had never been tested. Her tests also proved positive for CF.

Although the siblings have relatively mild symptoms, their schoolmates understand that this is a life-threatening disease with no cure. CF is a genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive systems of approximately 30,000 children and adults in the United States. Nearly ten million Americans carry the defective CF gene.