FOR CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

Sayville Middle School “Green Team” Holds Book Drive

With September designated as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month by the National Children's Cancer Society, educators were encouraged to generate awareness through diverse extracurricular activities.  In schools across the nation, students and teachers demonstrated their awareness by wearing gold-ribbon lapel pins, writing their local newspaper editors about doing a story on childhood cancer, and asking the local libraries to feature books about childhood cancer and treatments.

In Sayville Middle School, the Green Team organized a book drive. Comprised of Mr. Durnin’s, Mrs. Hartman’s, Mrs. Krauth’s, and Mrs. Redmond-Eubanks’ sixth-grade students, the Green Team originally intended to target their own team members with motivational posters promoting the event. “Our students worked during 11th period,” Mrs. Redmond-Eubanks explained. “They also created bookmarks and assembled gold-ribbon lapel pins that were handed out to all students who donated books.” Trying to think outside the box, many Green Team students devised creative ways to raise money at home so they could purchase new books.  

As the campaign spread throughout the Middle School, Art Teacher Mrs. Urso offered to have her older art students work as graphic-designers to create additional posters for the drive.  The Middle School student council also got involved, offering discounted dance tickets to all students who donated a new book.  Word of mouth in the community resulted in donations from Sayville’s own Runaway Bay Books as well as a local Barnes and Nobles. Thanks to the snowballing generosity of the Middle School students, faculty, and staff, the Green Team was able to collect over 600 new books for children with cancer. 

When September ended, Mrs. Redmond-Eubanks contacted her friend Lisa Costa to pick up the books for the area hospitals. 

(Mrs. Costa initiated the book drive to honor the memory of her seven-year-old daughter who battled brain cancer. Her daughter loved to read and be read to. The book drive not only is a way of keeping her spirit alive, but bringing books helps brighten the days of those children undergoing treatment or hospital stays.)

Overwhelmed by tears and emotions when she saw the boxes of books from the Middle School, Mrs. Costa conveyed her heart-felt thanks to all the Sayville community for their tremendous response to the book drive.

The Green Team was so proud and happy with the energy and commitment of the entire Middle school community, that they will begin a schoolwide book drive as soon as schools open next year.