Mark Coffey/Sun Photo SWEET CHARITY ... From left, fifth-graders Sidney Hallak, Kat Flaharty and Katie Jehle serve Krispy Kreme doughnuts May 1 to students arriving at Cottonwood Point Elementary, 10521 W. 129th St., Overland Park, as part of a Cystic Fibrosis Foundation fundraiser.
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Fundraiser teaches pupils importance of giving
By: Philip Batson, Staff Writer
While the combination of doughnuts and orange drink for young students at 8:30 in the morning might seem like a nightmare for teachers, the recipe made a perfect fundraiser.
Kelly Edwards’ and Stephanie Strange’s fifth-graders at Cottonwood Point Elementary School put on the annual Gift of Giving fundraiser to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Pupils, parents and even the Chik-fil-A cow came out May 1 to munch on Krispy Kreme doughnuts and juice for $1. Forty-three dozen doughnuts later, the first part of the fundraiser was complete, all at 100 percent profit because the parents purchased the refreshments. The second part of the fundraiser took place that evening at the Chik-fil-A at 7500 W. 135th St., Overland Park. The restaurant donated 20 percent of profits from 5 to 8 p.m. to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It is the first time an outside company has joined forces with Cottonwood Point for Gift of Giving.
“I think we’re going to raise a lot of money and I’m happy we’re doing it because it’s going to help cystic fibrosis,” fifth-grader Katie Jehle said.
Strange said she hopes more than $1,000 will be raised.
Strange said she and Edwards allow the class to choose what cause the fundraiser will support each year. In the past students have raised money for cancer and a family with a father stationed overseas. This year Susan Brown suggested the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to Cottonwood Point’s counselor Debra Kern because Brown’s first-grade daughter, Kaylee, has cystic fibrosis. Kern passed the idea along to Strange and Edwards, and their 23 pupils approved the idea.
“I want to empower the kids as much as possible because this is their Gift of Giving project,” Strange said. “They did all of it and they did beautifully with it.”
Before the fundraiser, Kaylee and her older brother Kyle, a former student of Strange’s, and older sister Courtney, who also has cystic fibrosis, visited the fifth-grade class and explained the disease, which many had not heard of before.
There is no cure for cystic fibrosis, which causes mucus to build up and clog some of the organs in the body, particularly the lungs and pancreas. The mucus can make breathing difficult and can also make it harder for the body to digest certain types of food. Kaylee explained that every day she has to take six different medicines and do three different breathing treatments and spend time wearing a Thairapy vest, which vibrates and helps her cough so she can get rid of some of the mucus in her lungs.
“It really impacted them to see how much she has to go through on a daily basis and what exactly the disease was,” Strange said. “Seeing a fellow student and all that she has to go through really touched them and made them even more excited.”
Contact Philip Batson at 385-6065 or
philipbatson@sunpublications.com.
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Kelly Edwards’ and Stephanie Strange’s fifth-graders at Cottonwood Point Elementary School put on the annual Gift of Giving fundraiser to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Pupils, parents and even the Chik-fil-A cow came out May 1 to munch on Krispy Kreme doughnuts and juice for $1. Forty-three dozen doughnuts later, the first part of the fundraiser was complete, all at 100 percent profit because the parents purchased the refreshments. The second part of the fundraiser took place that evening at the Chik-fil-A at 7500 W. 135th St., Overland Park. The restaurant donated 20 percent of profits from 5 to 8 p.m. to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It is the first time an outside company has joined forces with Cottonwood Point for Gift of Giving.
“I think we’re going to raise a lot of money and I’m happy we’re doing it because it’s going to help cystic fibrosis,” fifth-grader Katie Jehle said.
Strange said she hopes more than $1,000 will be raised.
Strange said she and Edwards allow the class to choose what cause the fundraiser will support each year. In the past students have raised money for cancer and a family with a father stationed overseas. This year Susan Brown suggested the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to Cottonwood Point’s counselor Debra Kern because Brown’s first-grade daughter, Kaylee, has cystic fibrosis. Kern passed the idea along to Strange and Edwards, and their 23 pupils approved the idea.
“I want to empower the kids as much as possible because this is their Gift of Giving project,” Strange said. “They did all of it and they did beautifully with it.”
Before the fundraiser, Kaylee and her older brother Kyle, a former student of Strange’s, and older sister Courtney, who also has cystic fibrosis, visited the fifth-grade class and explained the disease, which many had not heard of before.
There is no cure for cystic fibrosis, which causes mucus to build up and clog some of the organs in the body, particularly the lungs and pancreas. The mucus can make breathing difficult and can also make it harder for the body to digest certain types of food. Kaylee explained that every day she has to take six different medicines and do three different breathing treatments and spend time wearing a Thairapy vest, which vibrates and helps her cough so she can get rid of some of the mucus in her lungs.
“It really impacted them to see how much she has to go through on a daily basis and what exactly the disease was,” Strange said. “Seeing a fellow student and all that she has to go through really touched them and made them even more excited.”
Contact Philip Batson at 385-6065 or
philipbatson@sunpublications.com.