Video: Middle School Students Raise Money For Cancer Research

GUNTOWN, MISS. (WCBI) – Monica Morse is usually in her first grade class, but she’s been on medical leave since this spring. That’s when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Morse endured sixteen weeks of chemotherapy, had a double mastectomy, and starts radiation treatments soon.

But she wasn’t going miss the annual “Race for the Cure” fundraiser at Guntown Middle School.

“I have a great support system as you can see,” Morse said.

In fact, Morse is director of the children’s ministry at First United Methodist in Saltillo.  Her students, and supporters call themselves “Monica’s Minions.”
They all helped in this year’s Race for the Cure.”

“It means a lot, to know that people are still fighting for you, fighting with you, want to raise money to find a way to get rid of this terrible disease and that the kids are in tune with what’s going on and that, they do care, it means a great deal,” Morse said.

Guntown Middle School teacher Angela Doty also knows about the fight.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer nine years ago, and helped organize the school’s first funderaiser.

“The first year we made about $2,000 and each year we’ve grown by a thousand and last year we raised $5,000 so we’re hoping to match that this year,” Doty said.

To help raise money students run a mile or ride a mechanical bull. There’s also a photo booth.  Teachers who collect the most donations, put on pink mohawks and dance.

These young teens understand the significance of finding a cure.

“I had a grandmother who passed away from breast cancer and then my other grandmother just got over it, so it’s real important to me because I’ve had family members go through that,” said Seventh Grader Emma Gregory.

“Lots of people die from cancer, we are all here to celebrate our loved ones, we can try solving cancer, we can all work together to stop cancer,” said Sixth Grader Jacquez Buckley.

The annual Race for the Cure shows students the goal to cure cancer is not a sprint. It’s a marathon they’re helping complete.

All of the money raised stays in the area, through the Susan G Komen Foundation.