By ROBERT LINNEHAN
A number of eighth-grade students reacted positively after they were told they could not wear a specific type of breast cancer awareness bracelet to school. The students — with the help of their homeroom teacher — responded and created their own wristband to help support a local township breast cancer organization.
Twenty-one students at Beck Middle School created, designed and sold their own breast cancer bracelets and helped raise over $700 for the local chapter.
Last year the middle school banned bracelets that bore the “I Love Boobies” campaign slogan, said eighth-grade special education teacher Stephanie Weinstein. Children had started wearing the bracelets — created by the national breast cancer awareness foundation Keep A Breast Foundation — last year and the school banned them for 2010.
Weinstein said students in her homeroom were adamant about wearing them and were fervent in their support of breast cancer awareness. The students swore they didn’t just want to wear them because they bore the word “boobies” on them, Weinstein said, so she challenged them to create their own family friendly version.
The students took the challenge seriously and a group of 21 created the “Got Pink” bracelets. They ran with the idea, met with the principal and convinced the administration to purchase 300 bands so they could raise money for breast cancer research.
After going on sale in mid-November the bands were sold out in less than two days, Weinstein said.
After paying the school back for the 300 bands, the students have more than $700 to donate.
“I was overwhelmed. The demand for the bracelets was so high and the interest among the students was so high, it was just great,” Weinstein said. “The students did everything. They came up with announcements, sales schedule, and their commercial groups. People even bought two each and a gentleman wanted to buy 50 to give out at his work.”
The students will donate $712 to the Jewish Family & Children’s services. Weinstein said the local organization helps Cherry Hill families who have been sickened by breast, lung, skin or ovarian cancer.
Weinstein said she hopes this will be an annual sale, as students have been clamoring for the school to buy more bracelets to sell this year. Weinstein said more probably wouldn’t be sold this year because so many were already bought.
Al Morales, assistant principal at Beck, credited the students with turning a negative situation into a positive gain for a worthy organization in Cherry Hill.
“It gave the kids an opportunity to have their voices heard and to take action,” he said. “As a school we’re proud of the students and Mrs. Weinstein for helping to guide the kids in that way.”
