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Monday, March 2, 2009
Loss, love ‘Drives’ Clark-Shawnee’s efforts
SPRINGFIELD — Each day of Clark-Shawnee’s bus drivers’ Drive for the Cure campaign to raise money for cancer brought new heartwarming anecdotes.
One boy dropped his bills and coins in a bucket before happily commenting, “That’s it. I’m broke.” A friend behind him in line told the driver it was birthday money he had donated.
When snow canceled school four days in a row in late January — the week bus drivers originally slated for their effort — students sacrificed their snow days and shoveled sidewalks to make extra money they could give to the cause.
As one student’s donation mixed in with the rest, he said “This is in memory of Mr. Terry,” a beloved janitor at Reid School who lost his battle with cancer in 2006. Other students dedicated their donations to mothers, fathers, grandparents, family or friends.
“We didn’t care if it was a penny or a check,” said driver Leanys Cutright, a cancer survivor. “Anything they wanted to bring.”
Bring they did — the effort, originally planned to be one of three week-long drives this year, raised more than $4,000 for the drivers’ Relay for Life team.
“This was way beyond our dreams so we’ve decided this will be a once-a-year deal,” said Cutright.
Cutright and fellow drivers Jake Mattern and Karen Brandenburg spearheaded the effort but all 19 of the district’s drivers participated. The department employees and family members will participate in Relay for Life June 5 at the Clark County fairgrounds.
“We basically had a blast last year,” said Matter. “We wanted to start our own team.”
Last year, a reluctant Cutright, in the midst of treatment, was “dragged” to the event.
“I was still doing chemo and I just didn’t want to go,” she said. “This Relay for Life thing has sort of become a passion of ours’ now.”
Cutright’s daughter, Taylor, and Brandenburg’s granddaughter, Brittany, are also passionate about the cause, helping to roll change and count collections. The two teens have both been touched by cancer — like many of Clark-Shawnee’s students, said Cutright.
“It’s not just putting money in a bucket,” she said. “These kids have worked and worked and worked. They’re just kids but they understand.
“The list goes on. It touches everyone.”
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