Butler students donate nearly $13K to leukemia society
Butler Area Senior High School students raised $12,821 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through a number of events including a bake sale, coin collection, basketball tournament, jeans day and Sadie Hawkins dance.
A team of three students — Peyton Pry, Guinness Brown and Olivia White — were selected for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's 2022 Students of the Year program, and led the fundraising efforts for Butler Area School District in honor of a local 5-year-old girl, Aria, who is battling B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
During the campaign Aria became cancer-free, Pry said.
“We kind of felt like we had to do it for her,” said Pry, a senior. “During our campaign she became cancer-free, which was pretty cool. We got to meet her the day after the grand finale.”
Pry said the school started a team for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society several years ago, and she and her teammates were happy to carry on its efforts this year. The chapter that encompasses Butler County also includes much of Western Pennsylvania, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Pry said her team was invited to Heinz Field alongside other fundraising teams for a finale event April 1.
White, a senior, said her dream job is a pediatric oncologist, and she got involved with the organization to get a head start on working with and helping cancer patients.
“It was an amazing experience, and it really solidified my goals,” White said. “We hoped we would get a little bit of support from people we knew well, but to see everyone come together for us and our campaign was incredible.”
Pry also said the school district community was supportive of the team’s events, which is what made the campaign successful.
“We had a pretty good turnout,” she said.
Pry said she and her teammates were happy to participate in the fundraising for the leukemia society, because of the benefits they are able to help fund with their donations.
“We are all super grateful for the community to come together for the cause,” Pry said. “Cancer affects every family in some manner or another, and especially helping Aria was a great thing for our community to do.”
