Top fundraising students for this year’s Math-A-Thon were treated to pizza and a movie for helping to generate almost $30,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, bringing the district’s accumulative contribution to over $1.1 million. 

The students are typically invited to tour St. Jude in Memphis, but since the medical center is not accepting visitors at this time, Pizza Inn opened its game room and a special showing of Disney’s “Cars” was arranged on Wednesday, March 24, at Kay Porter Theater 

The group of students—three per participating building—included last year’s top fundraisers who missed out on the reward due to the district’s wellness break. Students also received gift bags with items donated by First Midwest Bank, Lemonade House Grille, McDonald’s, Sonic and St. Jude.

The Poplar Bluff School District has been a part of the Math-A-Thon since the 1988/89 academic year under the direction of former O’Neal Principal Lorenzo Sandlin, and the fundraiser went district-wide over the next decade.

Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the childhood cancer survival rate from 20 to 80 percent, according to the medical center’s website.

Pictured: Students pictured (in alphabetical order, not the order in which they appear) are Madeline Allbritton, Brookelyn Ballow, Liam Bates, Blayne Bell, Bree Blackwell, Karter Brown, Peyton Brumitt, Dalilah Burkeen, Dakota Collins, Austin Crismon, Chandler Crunk, Logan Crunk, Stella Cummings, Maddi DeHart, Jake Fickert, Kaitlyn Hillis, Chadrick Joehrs, Natalya Johnson, Nash Ligons, Ace Luecke, Jayden Massa, Natalie Meyer, Kyleigh Moffitt, Macy Mustain, Kayden Robbins, Dalton Rommel, Natalea Rommel, Chloe Rowland, Miles Sandlin, Sheldon Schaefer, Jace Silman, Bailey Smith, Reagan Sparkman, Kerris Taylor, Maddox Wilson and Presley Wilson.

Photo and article submitted by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Director, Poplar Bluff R-I School District