Funds raised to help toddler
Glitter mixed with oats as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus drew families to the Mars Area High School, where the student council staged a fundraiser for a toddler with cancer.
Lexie Knox stood in front of the bowls of oats mixed with glitter as children and their families made their way into the high school's cafeteria Saturday.
Each reindeer had their own color. Knox, who has planned and organized the event for the last four years, said the glitter is meant to catch the eyes of Santa's reindeer while Kris Kringle places gifts under the tree.
Michael Crowley, a student DJ, played holiday music as children and their families drank hot chocolate, ate candy and lined up to chat with Santa.
“Seeing everyone and the kids get excited gets me in the holiday mood,” Knox said. “Our Santa and Mrs. Claus are awesome.”As a senior, this will be Knox's last year organizing the event, and she said she was sad to have to leave it behind.The event is staffed by about 40 students, Knox said, and this year they are raising money for the Bartle family, whose toddler son Ford was recently diagnosed with a type of cancer called neuroblastoma.Knox noted that in years passed they've raised about $1,000. “The parents are very willing to give money,” she said.She said that getting student volunteers hasn't been a problem either.“Everyone is so willing to do it just because it's so much fun,” Knox said. “It's a bunch of 7-year-olds getting excited. Who doesn't want to be a part of that?”
Raising money for the Bartle family made sense, Knox said, because “they're in this community and we all know them.”Earlier in the year, the student body had a chance to vote for what cause it wanted to support and out of three choices, raising money for the Bartles won by a “landslide,” according to Ashley Tosadori, a biology teacher and the adviser for student council.With a budget of around $250, Knox said “We have to be creative with what we can do. It's about how much you can do with the least amount of money.”Nearby, Crowley the DJ played “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey.He said that after he graduates he wants to become a professional DJ.“He's our DJ for everything,” Maddie Goerl, a senior, said as she stood nearby.As the music played, parents including Sandra and Abdiel Martinez brought their children up to sit with Santa.
“We wanted to help with the donation,” Sandra said. “Plus, anywhere where Santa is they like.”Sandra said that her daughters, Dahimy and Dyani, played soccer where Bobby Bartle, the father of Ford, was the coach of the team. They found out about Ford when his father stopped coaching the team to concentrate on his son's health.The Martinez family made their way over to Lexie and her glittered oats.Eleventh-grader Kyra Koch gave them a bag of the reindeer food.“I love seeing everybody be so happy for Christmas,” she said. “It's so cute.”
