Sylvie Stewart Coin Drive - Remembering Students Past and Supporting Students' Futures

The Sylvie Stewart Coin Drive has been taking place during the month of March at Abintra. Children are encouraged to bring in loose change to support the Tuition Assistance Fund. Each classroom has a collection jar so students can see the coins collected.

This fundraiser was created by former student Will Stewart in memory of his sister, Sylvie, an EC student who passed away from brain cancer in 2000. The guides have shared the Sylvie Stewart story with each classroom in an age-appropriate way so the children understand what their coins support. Early Childhood students have  received lessons on counting money and have been involved in the process of keeping up with their totals.

  

We appreciate those of you who have contributed to the coin drive thus far, and would like to especially acknowledge a former student (whose sister currently attends Abintra) who spent a weekend afternoon selling cookies outside of a fire station to raise money for the drive (pictured bottom right). His efforts alone raised $86!     

In response to all of the support, Sylvie's mother, Ruth Carr Stewart, said, "I love that the Coin Drive tradition continues! Hard to believe, but this month Sylvie would have turned 17. We like to remember how happy she was at Abintra, and how she looked forward to every single day there even when she was significantly ill. We miss her and feel happy when people remember her."