News
Donate your pennies...save a life
March 5, 2009
Mohonasen
junior Caitlyn Collins has started a penny war at the high school in
hopes of raising money to help a little girl named Hannah. Hannah,
who is 5 years old and lives in Rexford, has a very rare terminal
illness called Giant Axonal Neuropathy (GAN). The disease, similar
to Lou Gehrig's Disease, develops early in life and unless a cure
can be found, Hannah will most likely only live until her early 20s
or 30s.
While Caitlyn hopes that all Mohonasen faculty and staff members will find it in their hearts to donate to Hannah's Hope Fund, the Penny War is geared toward students and staff at Mohonasen High School and will run for two weeks starting on Thursday, March 5.
"The object of the penny war is to have the most pennies in your jar," Caitlyn said. "The catch is that any silver coins or dollars in the jar take away from the point value."
According to Caitlyn, because GAN is so rare there is very little money backing research for a cure. However, doctors say that with adequate funding they may be able to find a cure or treatment within four years. A cure for GAN could lead to cures for Lou Gehrig's Disease or Multiple Sclerosis, because they are so similar.
"Hannah doesn't know she is sick because her parents keep hoping that they can raise the money to save their daughter's life and will never have to tell her," Caitlyn said.
Anyone from the community who wishes to donate to Hannah's Hope Fund can send donations to Latefa Lang at Mohonasen High School or log on to www.hannahshopefund.org. Checks can be made payable to Hannah's Hope GAN.
