Schools

Belvedere Students Hop for Others

Elementary school hosts unique fundraiser for cystic fibrosis research.

Every spring, Wendy West takes off a day and leads students from (BES) in a fundraiser for cystic fibrosis, raising thousands for research. For West, the day is personal.

West’s daughter, Megan, was diagnosed with the disease when she was 4 years old. Though she takes 30 pills and needs four naps daily, Megan’s determination to live her life to the fullest is West’s inspiration.

“She is really an amazing kid,” said West, as she busily prepared to lead the primary grades through the fundraising event. “She has a 4.44 GPA, is in the National Honor Society, loves to Zumba, and despite being hospitalized last summer, made the JV soccer team this year.”

Find out what's happening in Broadneckwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Meghan inspires the entire school community at Belvedere. She has come in and made presentations to BES students before the event to explain to students what cystic fibrosis is and how it affects 30,000 people like her in the United States.

Over the years, the West family and BES have raised more than $10,000 through this hop-a-thon, with 90 cents to every dollar being donated directly to research.

Find out what's happening in Broadneckwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Because [cystic fibrosis] affects fewer people, the research is not funded by the federal government,” said West. “Over the years, there have been great strides made in medications, expanding the life expectancy rate from 25 to 37. I feel like we helped contribute to that.”

On Wednesday, West went around to the different classes, reminding them about the important reason they were about to do this seemingly fun and easy activity. West brought along her niece, Sarah Johansen, and a teen volunteer, Nick Dickenson, to hand out ice pops once each student was done. 

Each student had two minutes to see how many times they could hop on one foot. Donations will be collected for the total hops or as a flat donation.

“This is something fun, while at the same time something that is bigger than themselves,” explained West. “It’s nice to learn at a young age that you can make a difference. Sometimes we even see kids bring in money from their own piggy banks.”

West, the school’s media center specialist and former first grade teacher, is so thankful for the kindness and generosity of the entire Belvedere community over the years. 

“I feel like this school community has two great big arms that are giving us a hug and showing how much they care,” said West.

For more information on cystic fibrosis and donating to research, go to www.cff.org.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Broadneck