Emma Taylor, a 4th-grade student in the Penn-Trafford School District, is battling leukemia, but she is certainly not fighting alone. The staff at Sunrise Estates Elementary School, where she attends, has taken the lead on numerous district-wide fundraising events to help with the family’s escalating medical bills.
Sunrise kicked off the efforts in August with a T-Shirt fundraiser for the entire district. Many of the shirts, which have the word ‘Warrior’ on them along with the orange cancer ribbon, were sold all across the district. In September, a district-wide Jeans Day (for staff) and a Hat Day (for students/staff) took place.
Finally, in October, Sunrise held a raffle called “Principal For a Cause” in which students could donate for the Taylor family in order to earn chances to be the principal for an hour. One ticket was chosen from each grade level, and the winners enjoyed shadowing principal Dr. Karin Coiner. The winning students helped out with all different tasks during the day, such as lunch, Kindergarten dismissal, deliveries, teacher needs, and office tasks.
All proceeds from the fundraising efforts - nearly $6,300 in total - were given directly to the Taylor family.