BC football player Mark Herzlich visited the Campus School’s annual “Spirit Day.” The school’s students donated jars of pennies to aid
cancer research in honor of Herzlich, who has been battling Ewing’s Sarcoma. (Photo courtesy of Campus School)
Boston College Campus School Raises Spirits — and More
Students of the Boston College Campus School donated $154.28 in pennies to cancer research in honor of BC football player Mark Herzlich
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Boston College football player Mark Herzlich’s inspiring and apparently successful battle against cancer has generated more than $170,000 in donations for cancer research from the University community, other Atlantic Coast Conference schools and various athletic organizations around the country.But no contribution may be more meaningful than the jars of pennies totaling $154.28 that children in the Boston College Campus School gave in honor of the star BC linebacker who was stricken last spring with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer and underwent extensive treatment during the summer and early fall. With a good prognosis in hand, Herzlich, the 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, hopes to resume his football career next fall.
The Campus School students, all of whom have multiple disabilities and many with complex health care needs, contributed their pennies throughout the fall and presented the money to Herzlich during the school’s annual “Spirit Day” on Nov. 20.
“We are always looking for ways to give back,” says Campus School Director Donald Ricciato, “because the children are always looked at as being the recipients of services.
“Our original goal was to raise $94 in pennies [in recognition of Herzlich’s uniform No. 94], but after we symbolically presented the jars of pennies to Mark, we had them counted and in the end we raised the $154.28 and donated a check in his name.”
During the “Spirit Day” festivities, the Boston College Campus School Volunteers, a group of undergraduate students, presented the school with a check for $110,000, the proceeds from fund-raising events held throughout the year. Male and female student-athletes from a number of Boston College varsity teams joined the Campus School students and volunteers for the Nov. 20 festivities.
(A 9.4-hour “Music for Mark” concert featuring student performers and ensembles will take place tomorrow in McElroy Commons, with proceeds going to Beat Cancer. Click here for details.)