The Edmond Sun

Local News

March 9, 2006

Deer Creek students smash WWF goal

Related Photos

  • Abbey Gillespie bits into dog food she had to eat because she and other students failed to meet their fundraising goals. DREW HARMON

    WWF DC

  • Lili McCoy, 5, looks up at the screen from the stage at Deer Creek High School Wednesday afternoon, with her sister, Kyleigh, center, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Jenny Brown. Kyleigh, a North High School student, has cystic fibrosis and spoke at Deer Creek’s WWF opening assembly.Lili McCoy, 5, looks up at the screen from the stage at Deer Creek High School Wednesday afternoon, with her sister, Kyleigh, center, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Jenny Brown. Kyleigh, a North High School student, has cystic fibrosis and spoke at Deer Creek’s WWF opening assembly. DREW HARMON

    WWF DC 2

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MARK SCHLACHTENHAUFEN

Deer Creek High School students smashed the WWF 2006 goal, raising $32,000 to help in the race to find a cure for cystic fibrosis.

The money will go to fund research supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF), ultimately benefiting individuals like Kyleigh McCoy, an Edmond North High School student suffering from CF.

McCoy said seeing the energy and passion in the Deer Creek students working to help someone like her was uplifting.

“It’s great,” she said. “The research will be so much help in finding a cure. They’re gonna find a cure. I just know it.”

Topping the goal of $23,000 the way they did was amazing, McCoy said.

Student organizer Sutton Kelley echoed her praise.

“This week has certainly been amazing,” Kelley said. “CFF was in need of your help and you stepped up to the plate. This was the best year yet.”

Kelley said supporting a cause like the CFF inspired Deer Creek students. The event is a time for them to “get outside of their bubble so they can actually see what’s going on in their world,” she said.

Kelley, a senior, said the WWF 2006 week in comparison to the others in her high school career was the most rewarding. Being able to give back and see how much her fellow students cared about the CFF was the icing on the cake, she said.

“Their participation and willingness to help out was like extraordinary, better than it’s ever been,” she said.

Participating in the service project helps students to get a better idea for what needs there are in their community and beyond, Kelley said.

Celia Palmer, CFF development director, said Deer Creek has a student body from which future leaders and professionals will come.

She said they would go on to do great things in life, but nothing better than this.

“It’s just one step closer to a cure,” Palmer said. “Money buys science and science ‘buys’ life. We have a proven record of taking funds and using them to ‘buy’ life.”

Fifty years ago, the average age of survival was five years, Palmer said. Now it’s 35.

Angie Simonton, Deer Creek High School student council sponsor, praised the efforts of the members of student government. Replacing the seniors would be a difficult task, she said.

The 2006 Deer Creek High School student council members are: Nadia Albahadily, senior; Stephanie Alexander, freshman; Alexa Brown, freshman; Brogan Byford, freshman; Wesley Frankenfield, senior; Halie Gaither, senior; Justin Hall, junior; Felicia Humphries, senior; Cortney Jacobson, junior; Derek James, junior; Sutton Kelley, senior; Alyssa Lair, senior; Kimber Larsen, sophomore; Kelsi Larson, sophomore; Ashlie McKibbin, senior; Catherine Schlinke, senior; David Sheetz, sophomore; Colin Strickland, junior; Michele Williams, junior; and Sarah Wittrock, junior.

Another group that supported the effort was the Dough Boys.

The 2006 Dough Boys are: Sam Emerson, Nick Faulkner, Katie Caudill, Jacob Kinman, Garett Gayge, Alise Denton, Brandon Melchert, Alyssa Henkes, Jenna Kriegle, Leigh Powell, Abbey Gillespie, Cody Stubblefield, Jaz Sale, Matt Slover, Shawn Tibor and Chris Jackson.

Raising the most money among the Dough Boys was Denton, with $784.49.

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