West Madison Principal Dr. Daphne Jah, at left, congratulates former St. Jude patient Dylan Crowe, center, and his parents Robbie and Keith Crowe, top Math-A-Thon fundraiser Reece Shepard, prize winner Kelsey Hobbs and coordinator Cheryl Bailey. West Madison raised $4,201.50 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – “The little school with the big heart.” West Madison Elementary School lived up to its unofficial motto with its latest fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. One student, Dylan Crowe, personally knows about St. Jude’s help.

The St. Jude Math-A-Thon at West Madison used math curriculum as a catalyst to collection donations for the hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

“Our goal was to raise $3,000. We totally exceeded our goal and raised $4201.50. That is wonderful,” Math-A-Thon coordinator Cheryl Bailey said. Bailey teaches second-graders at West Madison.

The money raised “will truly make a difference in the lives of children at St. Jude research hospital,” Bailey said. “St. Jude is a great cause. I am sure we all know someone who has been helped by the hospital.”

West Madison student Dylan Crowe was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia after his first-grade year. He received treatment at St. Jude. “This was Dylan’s first year back in school after diagnosis in 2009,” his mother Robbie Crowe said.

Dylan Crowe and his parents, Keith and Robbie Crowe, donated two Kindle readers, a Fire HD and Fire HDX, as Math-A-Thon prizes.

West Madison student Reese Shepard received the Kindle HDX for collecting the most funds at $275. Kelsey Hobbs also received a Kindle as winner in a random drawing among the participants who raised at least $25.

“The two kids who won the Kindles are in Dylan’s homeroom class,” Robbie Crowe said. “We were so proud of their and all of his classmates’ efforts.”

Each student who participated in the Math-A-Thon received a St. Jude bracelet. Students who raised $35 or more earned a T-shirt. For $75 or more, students received a sling bag.

The grade with the most participants was fifth grade. They collected $1,551.

West Madison Principal Dr. Daphne Jah thanks Bailey for leading the effort. “Ms. Bailey did a tremendous job organizing everything,” Jah said.