Fatima students recognized for contribution to Cancer Society
By Brian CleeveWednesday February 04, 2004
The family of Myles McLellan, a Grade 5 student at Our Lady of Fatima School, donated the Myles Miracle Mission Bear to the school last Thursday for their efforts in raising $3,000 through CD sales in December. The bear contains a message of thanks to the school from Myles, who is shown with 13-year-old Katie Stokely, a Grade 8 student and prime minister of the school's student council.
Photo by Brian Cleeve
Chatham This Week - A local family has donated a teddy bear as a thank you to a Chatham school for raising funds for the Canadian Cancer Society.
Susan McLellan donated the cuddly, purple bear to the students of Our Lady of Fatima school where her son Myles -- who suffers from a malignant brain tumour -- is a Grade 5 student.
The bear was presented to the school during an assembly last Thursday morning.
The Fatima students raised $3,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society in December through the sale of CDs.
The bear is both a thank you from the McLellan family and the beginning of an awareness campaign in Chatham-Kent.
You just squeeze one of the paws and out comes a recorded message from Myles, thanking Our Lady of Fatima for the fund-raising effort.
"We hope to be able to present the bear to all the schools in Chatham-Kent for fund-raising and awareness," said Susan McLellan.
Children suffering from cancer like something cuddly and so the bear was ideal, she said. It is purple to signify hope.
McLellan says she searched the Internet to find a symbol and came up with the bear. She ordered this one at a cost of about $30.
She says money raised locally will help children like her son and Cole Walker, a Senior Kindergarten student at Fatima who also has a malignant brain tumour. Another student suffering from cancer also attends Fatima.
Randy Van Kessel, the principal at Fatima, called the donation of the bear, a "beautiful gesture."
Van Kessel says the bear has been put into the school showcase. A number of children squeezed the bear for Myles message Thursday morning, shortly after the assembly.
The students were appreciative of the donation. "You could hear a pin drop during the assembly," he said.
Myles McLellan was diagnosed with the tumour two years ago on his Feb. 9 birthday.
The original article
