Palmetto Learning Academy

I am excited to announce that we have launched our Buddy-A-Thon Fundraiser with Palmetto Learning Academy.

Students can pick and help 'build our own' huggable, lovable Buddy when the Bear Factory brings their 15ft Mobile 'Create a Plush Buddy' Trailer to our school. With donations raised we earn a Buddy and with additional donations we can even earn outfits for our Buddy!

We are thrilled to announce our 3rd Annual Buddy-A-Thon fundraiser, running from September 15 to October 6! 🎉 This event is incredibly important to us for two key reasons. First, half of the proceeds will go directly to our classrooms to fulfill our teachers' wish lists! These special items are designed to make our classrooms even more amazing! 🌟 The second reason is that the other half of the proceeds will be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. For those who are new to PLA, let me share our story. Our daughter, Kinsey, was diagnosed with a terminal and inoperable brain tumor called DIPG at just 3.5 years old, a diagnosis with a 0% long-term survival rate. We were given only 12-18 months. We prayed for a misdiagnosis, feeling that asking for a cure was too much. Thankfully, we reached out to St. Jude for a second opinion, and they agreed that something wasn't right, accepting us into their program. On our second morning there, Kinsey had new scans, and by the afternoon, we were overjoyed to learn that while it was indeed a brain tumor, it was NOT a DIPG. Instead,

On September 1, 2026, we will reach the big milestone of 5 years post-diagnosis ❤️.  St Jude saved her life.  They gave us HOPE when there was none. Kinsey still returns every 6 months for checkups.  In April of next year, when we reach the 5year anniversary of End of Treatment, she will go to one visit per year until she is 18 years old. This care was all at no cost to us.  We have received well over $1 million dollars in treatment costs, and St Jude still has not charged us one cent.  They cover travel, housing, food and all medical expenses.  If there is ever a foundation that does exactly what it promises, it's St Jude.  It is our goal to pay it forward as much as we can and continue to support Danny Thomas' dream— that "No child should die in the dawn of life".  So I hope you will all join us as we give everything we've got to this fundraiser and help St Jude fight what no parent should ever have to go through.  Let's continue to give these families hope and celebrate Kinsey's big 5-year anniversary!!! 

I'm asking my friends and family to help me by pledging donations towards our program.