Highland County Community Action Organization Head Start raises $1,679.58 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Through the St. Jude Trike-A-Thon, the Highland County Community Action Organization, Inc. (HCCAO) Head Start program raised $1,679.58 to support the research and treatment of childhood cancer and other deadly diseases while teaching trike and riding-toy safety tips.

The annual fundraiser is a weeklong program where kids learn riding safety skills while raising funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, one of the world’s premier pediatric cancer research centers. On April 26, kids used the schools’ circle cycles and/or brought their own trikes to school where they practiced the safety rules learned throughout the week.

This is the first year that the HCCAO Head Start program has held the St. Jude Trike-A-Thon program. Not only did were children taught valuable safety lessons, they were taught how they could help kids like them who are battling cancer and other deadly diseases.

Because no family is ever denied treatment from St. Jude because of an inability to pay, funds from public fundraisers such as the St. Jude Trike-A-Thon help the hospital’s mission of finding cures and saving children.

Since its inception in 1983, the St. Jude Trike-A-Thon program has raised more than $87 million. For more information, visit www.stjude.org/trike or call 1-800-626-BIKE (2453).

About St. Jude

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering research and treatment of children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The hospital’s research has helped push overall survival rates for childhood cancer from less than 20 percent when the institution opened to almost 80 percent today. It is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children, and no family ever pays St. Jude for care.

For more information, go to www.stjude.org and follow St. Jude on www.facebook.com/stjude and www.twitter.com/stjude.

About Highland County Community Action Organization, Inc.

HCCAO, Inc. is a private nonprofit corporation founded in 1965 under the Lyndon B. Johnson War on Poverty. The mission is to provide opportunities and support to empower individuals and families to reach their maximum potential.

In 2010, the organization provided services to over 45% of the unduplicated population of Highland County. HCCAO currently employs over 90 people. The agency offers such programs as Housing Rehabilitation, WIC, Senior Nutrition, HEAP and Early Childhood Programs including Head Start and Early Head Start.

These Early Childhood Programs provide services to pregnant women, infants and children through the age of 5. The program is currently accepting applications for the 2012-13 school year.