Poland McKinley Elementary staff member Lori DeLisio was the top donor in the St. Jude campaign and was rewarded as the first to introduce a cream pie to Principal Matt Beard.

POLAND — McKinley Elementary students recently enjoyed a special assembly to celebrate its monthlong St. Jude fundraiser.

The students raised more than $26,000 — representing the third largest amount in the nation — and for one staff member, the effort was a personal one.

“McKinley Elementary has a strong sense of community connection,” said principal Matt Beard. “Each year our school takes on a project where we connect with our community to impact others. This year we’ve chosen to partner with St. Jude for the personal connection with (teacher) Samantha Alexee.”

The personal connection is Alexee’s sister, Dawn Bavinec, who, at 8 months old, was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer called neuroblastoma. Local surgeons could not remove the tumor, and she was referred to St. Jude in 1975 and underwent a successful surgery and treatment.

“St. Jude doctors saved my sister’s life,” Alexee said. “We know St. Jude pays for everything for the child and family, so we wanted to help them out.”

Alexee took the lead on the project and ordered the St. Jude math workbooks. The fundraising started March 27 as students registered online and began asking for donations.

In the classroom, the students dug into their new math workbooks, which carried a superhero theme. Alexee said a bulletin board was decorated and students were asked to contribute to it by saying what their superpower would be. A superhero day took place, and kids got to dress up. Staff also participated by wearing masks.

Also at the assembly, those with the top donations got a special treat. They got to pie a teacher in front of the whole school. The assembly kicked off with the top fundraising staff member getting to throw a pie at Beard. That honor went to Lori DeLisio.

“We do this once a year,” Beard said. “Our kids are always wanting to help others, and this year they took the ball and ran with it. One thing about the kids at McKinley is helping others means something to them. That’s a value that their parents teach them, and we try to reinforce at school daily. This community always shows up, so we are not surprised with the total, just very grateful.”

The giving spirit stays with the students as they grow. One good example of it was on May 12 when Poland Middle School sixth grader Sophia Jones wrapped up her project. Jones is a member of the Poland Middle School Kindness Club. She wanted to do a fundraiser to support Akron Children’s Mahoning Valley.

She oversaw a fundraiser by asking middle school students to donate toys and funds. She recruited friends from Kindness Club to create posters and flyers, leading to an outpouring of support that amounted to an $850 donation and multiple bags full of toys for the hospital.