BREWSTER – Cancer has tragically affected the Brewster School District with the loss of a high school student and the death of a special education teacher.
Brewster High School Students Against Cancer decided to remember those lost by raising $5,405 for national, regional and local efforts to fight cancer and support cancer patients.
On Saturday members of the group gathered to present checks to representatives from the American Cancer Society, Memorial Sloan Kettering and the Megan Gersch Foundation.
Club President Lindsay Smith presented a $1,464 check to Joelle and Marc Schwartz, parents of Zachary Schwartz, the young man who died of leukemia, for a charity devoted to fighting pediatric cancer that Zach started himself–ZAAC Attack–Zachary Attacks Childhood Cancer.
Senior Harrison Dakin, one of Zachary’s closest friends, remembered the young man as a “truly great person who was taken from us much too early.”
A second check was donated to Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in Manhattan for $2,000. Smith explained after raising $1,000 with “on-the-ground fundraising efforts,” the funds were matched by individuals on Giving Tuesday, which doubled the amount for the research hospital.
The final check was presented to members of Gersch’s family. Megan passed away last summer following a five-year long battle with breast cancer. The check which totaled $1,941 was earmarked for the Brewster Education Foundation Megan Leigh Gersch Scholarship Fund and will be awarded to a deserving special needs teacher who has overcome obstacles.
Gersch’s mother, Mary Gionta, told those in attendance, “Megan loved her job and her students. She wanted to keep a positive attitude and never complained. She was always smiling and thinking about others which is why it means so much to us to keep her memory and name alive. We set up this foundation through the Brewster Education Foundation because she loved being a special education teacher. We hope this money will enable a deserving special education teacher to continue her legacy.”
Smith also gave a shout out for the generosity of the Brewster High School Career Skills students and Beth Meola from the Swag Shop who “all donated time and resources to help in the fundraising events to fight cancer.”
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