Tuscarora kids help make a difference

by Larry Austin
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, March 25, 2006

Students at Tuscarora Elementary raised $1,100 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society during a recent penny drive. Above are the fourth-graders who raised the most money as a class, Lewiston Kiwanis members (shown at right), and representatives of the Buffalo Bandits lacrosse team, who were on hand March 17 to help congratulate the school. (photo by Larry Austin)

Every little penny counts, as Tuscarora Indian School students learned during a recent fund-raiser.

Students at Tuscarora Elementary School, located at the corner of Walmore and Mount Hope roads on the Reservation, raised $1,100, most of it in pennies, during a penny drive this month for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Their hard work was further supported by a $300 donation from the Lewiston Kiwanis Club.

As a reward for their efforts, the students were visited by six members of the Buffalo Bandits Major Indoor League Lacrosse team on March 17. Team coach Darris Kilgour, brother and Bandits midfielder Rich Kilgour, forwards Delby Powless and Roger Vyse, defenseman Kyle Couling, and midfielder Mark Steenhuis met the students to answer questions and sign autographs.

Technology instructor Paul Beatty of Tuscarora Elementary said he would have been pleased to collect $300 during the penny drive. “When it was all said and done, our little school collected $800,” Beatty told the students during an assembly Friday.

Before the campaign, Beatty wrote a letter to Lewiston Kiwanis asking if they would match the Tuscarora total up to $300. They agreed, and Randy Gorzka, secretary of Lewiston Kiwanis, was on hand March 17 to present a $300 check to the students.

Jennifer Kisker, campaign coordinator for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society said: “On behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, thank you so much for working so hard and contributing all your pennies and your change. It really does add up. You really are making a difference.”

The money will help doctors find a cure for leukemia and lymphoma and help families in Western New York fighting the disease, Kisker said during the assembly.