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New school year means new Math-A-Thons

When Hurricane Katrina made landfall last year, Long Beach, Mississippi, took the brunt of the storm’s force. The town was devastated. Families were left with nothing and were forced to flee the area to find new homes or to stay with relatives. Even some six months later, a full recovery was still a long way in the future. It didn’t seem like it would be a good time for a school to host a Math-A-Thon program to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

But Rev. Paul Stephens, headmaster of Coast Episcopal School, thought differently. Through the despair, he had seen the hope that still burned thanks to the volunteers who had come to Long Beach to help in the recovery and the outpouring of help that the town received. He wanted to fan that flame so that it continued to burn.

In February, just six months after Katrina, Stephens announced that the school would honor its previous commitment to St. Jude to conduct the Math-A-Thon.

Math-A-Thon is a problem-solving, fund-raising program created by St. Jude as a way for students around the country to raise money for the hospital. Students have the opportunity to practice and improve their math skills while also learning the value of helping others. Using Math-A-Thon Funbooks or CD-ROMs, students work a number of math problems for which they receive sponsorship from friends and family. The funds they receive go to help St. Jude continue its life-saving research into pediatric cancer and other childhood catastrophic diseases. At St. Jude, no family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay.

In addition to the Funbooks and the CD-ROMs, students can also utilize the program’s Web site, www.mathathon.org as well as the Math-A-Thon WIRED section. Through Math-A-Thon WIRED, both teachers and students are able to add a new dimension to their participation by creating their own secure Web pages, sending e-mails to sponsors and allowing supporters to see their progress. The site also gives sponsors the option of giving via credit card, if they so wish.

Danica McKellar, known for her roles on "The Wonder Years" and "The West Wing," returns this year as spokesperson for the program. Although known as an actress, McKellar was a member of the UCLA Mathematics Scholars Honors program, where she co-authored a research paper that helped solve a new problem in the area of Statistical Mechanics, now known as the Chayes-McKellar-Winn theorem. McKellar is currently working on numerous projects including starring in Lifetime Movie Network’s multi-media series entitled "Inspector Mom." In 2007, Hudson Street Press will publish a new book from McKellar called "MATH DOESN’T SUCK."

More than 11,000 schools participate in the Math-A-Thon program each year, making it one of St. Jude’s most successful fund-raising programs.

For Rev. Stephens, his faith and hope saw incredible results. Last year, the pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school raised more than $2,000. In March 2006, with only 11 students participating, the school still raised more than $1,000 for the hospital.

“I don’t believe any words could properly describe our gratitude to Rev. Stephens, his staff and students for what they accomplished,” said David L. McKee, chief operating officer of ALSAC, the fund-raising organization of St. Jude. “To face such hardships and still coordinate one of our programs takes an extraordinary amount of dedication and compassion. I know our founder, Danny Thomas, would be in awe of what Coast Episcopal has done for his hospital.”

If you would like information on how to participate in the Math-A-Thon program, visit www.mathathon.org or call 1-800-FUNBOOK (386-2665).

 

September 2006


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