WALL, N.J. – Student Transportation of America (STA) drivers and staff teamed up in two countries this month to raise money to fight cancer.
In Collegeville , Pa., employees at the local terminal took a stand against childhood cancer when they hosted an Alex’s Lemonade Stand fundraiser at their annual employee picnic. More than 200 drivers, aids and terminal personnel raised nearly $4,200 by selling lemonade, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation T-shirts and baked goods to friends, family and community sponsors.
Wynnewood, Pa.-based Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer emerged from the front yard of cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott (1996-2004), who at the age of four held the first lemonade stand to help her doctors find a cure for all children with cancer. Since Alex held that first stand, the foundation bearing her name has raised more than $25 million toward fulfilling Alex’s dream of finding a cure, funding over 80 research projects nationally .
But it was not only Alex’s spirited determination to raise awareness and money to fight childhood cancer that inspired the STA Collegeville team.
“It was STA bus driver Terry Frey’s idea to hold the picnic fundraiser to honor the memory of fellow-employee Ada Curtis’ two great-grandchildren who recently lost battles with childhood cancer,” said Emma Trauger, manager of the company’s Collegeville terminal. “The support of the other drivers was overwhelming. STA’s regional headquarters was so impressed with our employees’ fundraising efforts that they contributed $1,000 to the cause.”
Meanwhile, in Ontario, Canada, employees of STA’s subsidiary, Student Transportation of Canada, were gearing up for a long night of walking in the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, an overnight, non-competitive relay in which teams of 10 take turns walking, running and strolling around a track. The annual event celebrates cancer survivors, remembers loved ones lost to cancer and fights back by raising funds to help find a cure for this terrible disease.
The STC team, organized by Penny Batherson, the company’s area manager of safety and training, raised $2,500 and won “Best Theme” when they donned pink T-Shirts, pig ears and boas in recognition of team co-sponsor Chez Piggy, a local restaurant.
“We all have been touched by cancer in one way or another,” said Batherson, who works at Parkview Transit’s Bradford terminal. “We felt it would be a nice, small thing we could do together to help.”
STA is the fourth largest school transportation company in North America serving school districts in 11 states across the U.S. and in Ontario, Canada. The company and its employees have a long history of service to the communities they serve.
