Riverview Students Raise Funds for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital

By Steve Sears

Rverview Elementary School of Denville in February raised almost $14,000 for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital by holding a “Math-A-Thon.”

The amount far surpassed their initial goal of $1,500.00.

Riverview Library Media Specialist, Rachel Jamison, and an exceptional group of kids led the effort. “We had done the ‘Math-A-Thon’ in the past,” she says. “I decided to start running the K-Kids, which is the Kiwanis Kids Club for our elementary school, primarily because one of my mentors, Dr. Cathleen Benedict, used to run this club for our school. She was just such an amazing educator and so passionate about service and kids, teaching them leadership.”

Benedict passed away in 2022, and Jamison took the torch and ran with it. The flame is blazing.

Jamison first met with the K-Kids, fifth graders at the school, in November, and asked them what they would like to do in terms of service. Many of the students, who had seen St. Jude’s commercials on television, used that fuel to focus on helping children who are sick or going through a rough time. They had their platform. Jamison says, “It really was driven from their (the students) interest and their investigation. That is what was so meaningful about it; it really came from them.”

Also, the fact that a fellow Riverview student was currently undergoing treatment at St. Jude further spurred the tremendous effort.

Jamison contacted St. Jude’s - which provides “Math-A-Thon” resources onlinein November, and the organization set the school up with a “Math-A-Thon” website and sent math booklets with problems to solve. The event was held on February 3, and the running total of funds raised was updated via the website. Donations came in the days before and after the morning event.

Ten K-Kids ran the “Math-A-Thon,” and the entire school (Kindergarten through fifth grade) participated, completing the math problems in the booklets while at the same time being educated about what St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital is and what they do. Jamison adds, ‘They were given the opportunity to raise money and donate money, but regardless of whether they donated money, they could still feel as though they were part of the project. And that was important to my little group. Thinking of the timing of all this - right around the holiday time is when we were thinking about it – they said, ‘Maybe not everybody can donate money, but everybody can do the math problems.’ That was powerful.”

For Jamison, the generosity, and the outpouring of support for St. Jude’s was unbelievably overwhelming. “For the students, it was very meaningful for me. To see how they saw that by setting a goal for themselves and being invested in a process and in a cause that is worthwhile, and really working towards it and the fact that you can surpass your goals - it was emotionally overwhelming and just a moment of real gratitude. I am grateful that I am part of such a wonderful generous community of students, families, and teachers that I work with.”