Faith Christian School in Gloucester, Mass. hosted a fundraiser during Colon Cancer Awareness Month in memory of their founding principal Mr. Don Lodge. The students wanted to do something to remember their beloved administrator and chose to give the funds raised to the Colon Cancer Coalition / Get Your Rear in Gear. They were challenged to raise $500. The final total? Nearly double that: $946!
The effort was headed up by Laura Lodge, daughter of the founder, she sent us this recap:
Mr. Don Lodge with two Faith Christian School students and his wife at a graduation celebration.
Faith Christian School began with my parents’ dream to start a Christian school in Gloucester, MA in 1978. There was always something “different” about FCS students. Many people think of the Christian school/Catholic school kids as the “too sheltered, never going to survive life” kind of kids. However, it was my dad’s mission to make sure these kids were exactly the opposite, giving them opportunities to be a part of their community and explore their surroundings on trips all over the east coast.
In the spring of 2009, there were a lot of changes at Faith Christian School. The middle school mainstream teachers were my dad and one other teacher. In March, my dad was diagnosed with cancer, and in April, the other teacher had to go on maternity leave. Throughout this time, students were impacted in ways I am not even sure we completely understand. It was a 25 month battle where many of his students visited, wrote letters, prayed for him, and so much more. All this is to say, this battle with colon cancer was bigger than our family. The significance it had in the lives of his students was huge.
As a teacher, he always pushed his students to think outside the box and outside of themselves. In April of 2011, colon cancer took his physical body from this earth. Nonetheless, we knew we needed to continue to help students to see there is a world outside of their own, a world which we were not exposed to before this 25 month long battle, a world of those hurting, fighting, struggling, persevering, and surviving this thing called colon cancer.
Faith Christian School Dress in Blue Day
In November of 2011, the oldest students in the school, the eighth graders, were given the opportunity to join our family in participating in the Get Your Rear In Gear 5k in Boston. As a result, we chose to have the whole school participate in “Dress Blue Day” in March. We talked about helping others who are enduring this hard time in their lives and tried to give students an understanding that this is bigger than dressing in blue for the fun of it! Students were challenged to raise $500. For a school of about 45 students in kindergarten to eighth grade, we saw that as an attainable goal that may require some work to reach. Each class chose what they would do to raise money. Some classes chose to shoot basketballs at a certain donation “price” per basket, while other classes chose to do a one mile walk/run. We were blown away when students raised $946!!
At Faith Christian School, we have chosen to “get our rear in gear” because we have been impacted by a world outside our own, a world we were not exposed to a few years ago, but a world in which we are now committed to making a difference and being an encouragement to those still fighting!
Watch the video from the school.
Get Your Rear in Gear is super proud of these kids and their faculty. A big THANK YOU for your support and efforts.