March kicked off the four-week Cool Kids Campaign Reading Challenge and six Catholic schools have opened their books: St. Pius X School, Rodgers Forge; Holy Family School, Randallstown; St. Ursula School, Parkville; St. Katharine, Baltimore; St. Margaret School, Bel Air; and School of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, Homeland.
Students are challenging teachers and local celebrities to read as many books as possible until April 26 in this contest and fundraiser to benefit pediatric cancer patients across the country. There are nine celebrity readers on each school’s kids’ team and nine on each teachers’ team.
Everyone who brings in $100 or more in pledges has a chance to win the grand prize of a trip to Disney World. Weekly raffles also are held at each school for gift cards, T-shirts, tickets and other kid-related prizes.
Cool Kids Campaign ambassador Kimmie Meissner, parishioner of St. Ignatius, Hickory, and world and U.S. champion figure skater, wrote this message to student readers: “You’re awesome! Thank you so much for supporting the Cool Kids. Remember, it’s not just a book, it’s an adventure!”
The Cool Kids Campaign, an arm of the Belanger-Federico Foundation, provides care packages, end-of-chemo celebrations, and tickets and trips for patients and their families to ease the seriousness of cancer treatments. The foundation was established by Chris Federico, son of Susannah Federico, a parishioner at Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, who died of leukemia; and Rob Belanger, son of Orioles Mark Belanger who died of lung cancer.