Students at Underwood School will be bringing in spare change from home, family, and friends to donate to the 19th annual Pennies for Patients fundraise, running from March 4-22.

The Rhode Island Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, in partnership with Domino’s, Garda and Loomis, sponsors a national coin drive to raise funds for blood cancer research and patient services. During this period, students bring in spare change to their school in this fun and educational program to fight the number one fatal disease of children ages one to 20: leukemia.

The top fundraising classrooms of each receive rewards.

Last year 204 Rhode Island schools generously raised over $317,273! Seventy-eight percent of all funds raised go toward life-saving blood cancer research and patient aid.

By pooling their coins, healthy children have a chance to learn about and help children struggling with leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, and myeloma. The challenges of treatment for children with leukemia are enormous – numerous hospitalizations, rounds of chemotherapy, spinal taps, bone marrow transplants, and hair loss, but their hope is always high, and the research is promising. With tremendous advances in research, 90 percent of children with leukemia survive today, compared to a four percent survival rate in 1960.

Many of LLS’s advancements are used for patients beyond those for
whom they were originally developed, like solid tumors and auto immune disease. To make a donation to Pennies for Patients 2013 through our school, contact Lori Russell at 846-9590.

Learn more about LLS and their services by contacting their office at 401-943-8888.