Crestwood students have raised $26,239.52 for Camp Jornada and HoCA as a result of the schools' Cadets for a Cause fundraiser. Cadets for a Cause organizer and Crestwood first grade teacher Renee Cuvelier said donations were still coming in as of Monday.
    Cadets for a Cause aimed to raise awareness of the one million children in the country affected each year by cancer, while raising funds for Camp Jornada Foundation, a yearround support network for children with cancer and their families. Money raised will go toward building a permanent campsite in Howard County for Camp Jornada.
    All students in the Howard-Winneshiek School District and at Notre Dame Catholic School helped raise money for the cause. Young students donated loose change to coin jars in classrooms, asked for donations from family and friends and competed in penny wars, which generated $1,000 in one day. T-shirt sales and a can drive also raised money.
    The junior high students raised a total of $3,158.63 and high schoolers raised $5,921.17, the most the high school students have ever raised for cancer. Notre Dame grades two through six raised $1,274.30.
    Cuvelier said the fundraising campaign was a big success, thanks to the students and everyone in the community.
    “It surpassed what I expected. I was pleasantly surprised,” she said.
    Grades k-12 attended and participated at a culminating Cadets for a Cause celebration at the Crestwood High School track the morning of April 30. Students took part in games, walked laps around the track and listened to Elvis tribute artist Brad Boice, among other activities.
    Local hair stylists Erin Wilson, Randi Burgart and Rachel Vrba were on site to cut hair for Locks of Love. Thirteen students donated their hair.
    The celebration's activities began around 9 a.m., and an assembly, survivor lap around the track and presentation of total funds raised took place at 10:30 a.m. At the time of the assembly, $21,400 had been raised, slightly under the group’s goal of $25,000.
    Cuvelier, who previously told students and staff that she would allow a student to shave her head if they raised $25,000, decided to go through with it despite the slightly lower initial total raised to show her support to cancer patients.
    Andrew “Buzz” Miller, who has leukemia, and Colton Ledbeder, who brought in the largest donation from a single person, got to do the honors. Students cheered and giggled while the two boys shaved Cuvelier bald at the end of last week’s assembly.
    Local students have raised over $60,000 combined for cancer victims during the past three years. The Cadets for a Cure fundraiser in 2006 and 2007 raised nearly $40,000 for HoCA, a county assistance organization that provides financial assistance to people undergoing cancer treatment. The assistance helps offset  expenses for people who need to travel out of town for cancer treatment.