CHAN'CELLORE MAKANJUOLA

FORT WORTH, Texas– ILTexas presented a check from its annual Breast Cancer Awareness fundraiser to the National Breast Cancer Foundation on Friday, December 16. The charter raised over $5,000 for the foundation, with Saginaw K-8 raising the most out of all the schools with over $600. 

ILTexas hosted the fundraiser back in October, where students were encouraged to wear pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and raise money for the cause. 

“I decided to donate because there's a lot of people that are struggling from [breast cancer],” said Eva Cardoso, an eighth grade student at Saginaw K-8. “It's very heartbreaking to know that they have to struggle with something for so long, and [donating] is like the right thing to do because . . . it helps them get to where they need to be healthy and live longer.” 

Nurse Karen Barnes (center right) with ILTexas Saginaw K-8 student council members and staff presenting check to National Breast Cancer Foundation 

Mandy O’Neill, who leads the development team at the National Breast Cancer Foundation, accepted the check on their behalf. 

“This is an incredible gift that's going to literally help thousands of women and their families here locally and beyond,” she said. 

The donation will go towards mammograms for those in need, support services, and women currently going through breast cancer treatment.

For Karen Barnes, the director of health services at ILTexas, the fundraiser highlights charter’s commitment to service. 

“We here at ILTexas believe in giving back to the community, and this [donation] is just one small way that we show that,” she said. “[The fundraiser] is just bringing awareness of what we need to do to take care of ourselves and our family members, as well as the people in the community.”

Visit ILTexas.org for more campus news and events.