PHOTO BY PAULA MULLER
Brickett Elementary School second-grader Camila Lima-Lopez raised $194 for the Pasta for Pennies fundraiser.
BY BRIDGET TURCOTTE
LYNN — Second-grader Camila Lima-Lopez saved her pennies for more than a year to help someone who needed them more than herself.
The 8-year-old student at Brickett Elementary School collected $194 for Pasta for Pennies, a national fundraiser sponsored by Olive Garden, to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
“It can save someone else’s life and I think it’s amazing to help someone else,” Lima-Lopez said.
Elementary and middle school students collect donations to help find cures for blood cancers and ensure that patients have access to treatment.
As an incentive, the class that raises the most money at each school wins a pasta party courtesy of Olive Garden, the Italian family-style restaurant. The fundraiser has collected more than $288 million since it was established in 1994.
The Brickett School has participated in the project for more than five years, said Lima-Lopez’s second grade teacher Liz King. This year’s fundraising goal was $1,200. King is confident the school has reached it.
When Lima-Lopez presented her donation, King was speechless. She called Lima-Lopez’s mother to make sure it was OK for her make the sizable donation.
“I’ve been in Lynn for 15 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” King said. “I just can’t stop crying today.”
“My teacher cried happy tears,” said Lima-Lopez. “I felt happy with what I did.”
Lima-Lopez said her family contributed when they heard she was collecting for the worthy cause. Wanting to do more, Lima-Lopez contributed cash she had saved from birthday gifts.
“When I told my mom, she said ‘are you sure?’ and I said ‘yes’ because I don’t need it so much,” Lima-Lopez said. “I want to help the ones who have cancer, asthma and other diseases.”
The students have a deeper understanding of what they are raising money for because a first-grader at the school is battling leukemia, King said. Eileen Cole, Brickett’s principal, told the students about the child’s illness during a school assembly.
At the beginning of the effort, a Pennies for Pasta staffer visited the school to explain to the children what cancer is in simple language.
“She showed the kids a demonstration of how bad blood attacks the good blood,” King said.
The presentation resonated with the students, she said.
“This fundraiser means a lot to our school,” King said.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.
