This year’s Pennies for Patients campaign at Peachtree City Elementary had special meaning for students and staff.

Fellow third grader Shane Rienks is battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and was recently treated for the form of blood cancer. The school named Shane their honored hero for the campaign.

Staff and students joined together and collected over $2,500 to send to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to fund research for a cure for blood cancers and improve the quality of life for patients and their families. Rienks had the honor of presenting the donation to Ally Sickeler from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society along with Lori Langehn (far left), school nurse and project coordinator, and Principal Kiawanna Kennedy.