Student-Led Initiatives Rally ISS Community in Fight Against Cancer

Indian Springs School students, faculty, parents, alumni, and friends came together in force last weekend to support two initiatives by ISS students to raise funds and awareness for cancer research.

Springs’ Hunting for a Cure, a Relay for Life event organized by Sarah Brabston ’16, Emma Turner ’17, and a committee of eight fellow ISS students, drew more than 300 participants Friday and raised $10,000—twice the committee’s goal—for the American Cancer Society. The on-campus event featured races, music, booths hosted by ISS Scav Hunt teams and the ISS Key Club, a survivor lap, luminaria ceremony, and moving remarks by faculty cancer survivors Gareth Vaughan, Michael Sheehan, and Dr. Bob Cooper and by parent cancer survivors Debbie Wiatrak and Lynn Ritchie.

“Sarah had the idea for Hunting for a Cure just as we were looking for something that could be the trademark event for our ‘Community, Citizenship, and Service’ theme this year,” says Turner, who is Co-Commissioner of Citizenship this fall. “After reading Generation We [Springs’ all-school summer reading assignment by Eric Greenberg], the idea of doing something to help fix a problem resonated with so many of us. This is all about service, so we thought that Hunting for a Cure was the best way for us to show support for an important cause.”

The committee worked with Scav Hunt Co-Chairs Mayor John Touloupis ’16 and Mira Walker ’16 to build excitement for the event by timing the fundraiser in conjunction with the close of Scav Hunt 2015.

“We would not have doubled our goal if it weren’t for the students who worked hard to get donations from others to support the cause,” says Brabston. “So many Scav Hunt teams really got into it. The winning team, [Latin and English teacher] Mr. Ray’s DFDM, raised $2,400. Cancer touches all of us in some way, and having everyone come together to support an organization like this that does a lot of good for other people is very special. I feel very proud of the community.”

Committee members secured a number of corporate sponsors: Regions Bank, Diamonds Direct, Ted’s Restaurant, Red Diamond, Deborah’s Party Rentals, The Impeccable Pig, Kendra Scott, and Insomnia Cookies. Other local companies, Jim ’N Nick’s, Slice, Buffalo Rock, Doodle’s Italian Ice, and Chick-fil-A, also supported the event by providing items at a discount, donating food, or contributing a portion of their sales.

Saturday, a Springs team led by Bela Patel ’18 as part of Sebastian's RunWalk For A Cure raised more than $3,100 to benefit The Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children's of Alabama. Patel began chairing an ISS team for the fundraiser three years ago in memory of her friend Sebastian Lemos, for whom the event is named. Lemos lost his battle to cancer in 2008. Patel’s team, which raised money through individual donations and by hosting a “pie in the face” booth at Springs’ 2015 Club Expo, surpassed its goal by more than $1,000.

“It is the effort of the whole Indian Springs community that helped raise this amount of money to support research for pediatric oncology at Children's Hospital,” says Patel. “It is estimated that 15,780 children and adolescents ages 0 to 19 years will be diagnosed with cancer and 1,960 will die of the disease in the United States each year. My hope is to raise enough money for research so that this disease can be completely eradicated someday.” 

Click here to view a gallery of Hunting for a Cure photos by Sunny Dong '17.
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190 Woodward Drive, Indian Springs, Alabama 35124
Phone: 205.988.3350
Indian Springs School, an independent school recognized nationally as a leader in boarding and day education for grades 8-12, serves a talented and diverse student body and offers admission to qualified students regardless of race, gender, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Located in Indian Springs, Alabama, just south of Birmingham, the school does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or sexual orientation in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, or athletic and other school-administered programs.

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