RB student collect tabs for St. Jude
By Brandi Mille for the FCT
September is designated as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Childhood cancer impacts many families, and as anyone who has ever dealt with the disease knows, the ramifications of cancer – the cost, both emotionally and monetarily – can be overwhelming. Brenleigh Hester, a student at Red Bay High School, is trying to help ease that burden.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital never turns any family away for inability to pay, and this facility is one of the top in the country for children with cancer. Children receiving treatment at St. Jude have a survival rate of more than 80 percent.
Brenleigh, a sixth-grader at RBHS, is aware of St. Jude and all of the amazing treatments the hospital provides to children, and she wanted to do her part. She has been collecting tabs from the tops of cans to send to St. Jude.
One gallon of tabs equals one round of chemotherapy for a child fighting cancer. The tabs on the cans are made of a purer and higher grade aluminum and therefore are worth more than some lesser-quality aluminum products.
“I did this so I could help kids in need,” said Hester.
Hester said she has been collecting tabs for around a month. She turned in 27 pounds of tabs to her teachers. Her donation will be combined with other donations from the school and will be taken to St. Jude to help a family in need.
Hester said she plans on doing something like this again because she really likes helping children in need.
She is the daughter of Brandon and Sally Hester.
