| (Pictured at right: Elma Public School teacher Joanne Duprau and students Martina Lewis, bottom left, and Jaimie Garlough display some of the 250 birthday cards collected by the school for Shane Bernier.) |
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(Elma) –
Jaimie Garlough knows the joy of receiving a birthday card.
That’s why the grade 3 student at Elma Public School wants to help send thousands to help give a little boy suffering from cancer a special birthday present – a Guinness world record.
Garlough’s school and at least 60 others across the Upper Canada District School Board have joined a growing campaign to help leukemia sufferer Shane Bernier with his quest to collect a record number of birthday cards by his 8th birthday in May. Bernier, of Lancaster, has already received more than 10,000 cards and up to 1,000 are arriving daily.
“I want to help him get the world record,” explained Garlough on Thursday. “I also want to send him the cards to tell him that I hope he gets better soon.”
“I think it will make him very, very happy because it’s the most special gift he wants for his birthday this year.”
The card drive at Elma was started February 1 by kindergarten teacher Joanne Duprau. Duprau learned of Bernier’s wish in an article in the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder newspaper.
She saw a card drive as a great way to not only help grant the wish of a sick child and honour Bernier’s courage, but also to teach an important lesson in character education within the school. She thought students could use the drive to learn about caring and empathy by supporting Bernier’s quest.
“We wanted to use it (the drive) as an opportunity for our children to feel compassion for another child and what he is going through at such a young age,” she said.
She spoke with Elma Principal Peter MacGregor and both agreed it would be a great initiative to run throughout the school.
Since then more than 250 cards have been collected by the school to help Bernier in his record attempt. The hand-made cards are beautiful to see. One bears a drawing of “Super Shane” in hero uniform and cape wishing him a happy birthday and good luck in his fight against cancer. Others feature hand-coloured pictures of the things little boys love - frogs, birthday cakes, airplanes and soccer balls.
One student even took the opportunity on the 100th day of school to encourage family and friends to submit a packet containing 100 cards. Martina Lewis, a five-year-old senior kindergarten student, collected the cards because she wanted to make Bernier happy.
Lewis’s father Andrew, a heavy truck mechanic, got in on the act sending in a card in the shape of a tractor-trailer for the Lancaster youth’s enjoyment. Another of Lewis’s family friends, Kemptville College student Rusty MacArthur, created a card bearing pigs with wings and talking about possibilities with the wording: “If only pigs could fly, the world would be a more enjoyable place.”
The campaign has been great for students at the school. Garlough says that supporting a young boy fighting cancer has been an inspiring experience for her.
“I feel like I’m sticking up for a boy who’s being bullied,” she said.
Senior grades at the school are finishing their cards today and Duprau says she will send the cards to Bernier’s family today.
There is no actual record for most birthday cards received in a single year, but another boy who had cancer holds a greeting card record of sorts. Between his eighth and 22nd birthdays, he received 350 million get-well cards.
Recent news reports say that Guinness is considering whether Shane’s idea could be considered as a different category.
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For more information, please call:
Joanne Duprau
Kindergarten Teacher
Elma Public School
613-448-3334
Peter MacGregor
Principal
Elma Public School
613-448-3334
Posted February 16, 2007