Team Cholewin Fundraiser

Hello Highland Community,

My name is Kerstin Cholewin. I teach seventh and eighth-grade French at Highland Middle School. I have cancer.

Highland Middle School has a long tradition of raising money for charities. I have actually served on the charity committee helping to organize and fundraise for wonderful organizations. This year, the school is honoring me.

The type of cancer I have is called low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC). Statistically, that makes me one in a thousand. Low-grade serous ovarian cancer was identified as its own type of cancer in 2005, making it a rare form of cancer that is under-researched and underfunded. There is still a lot that is unknown about my cancer, including how to best treat it.

STAAR (Survive. Thrive. Advocate. Advance Research) is a nonprofit organization, the only one in the United States, that raises money specifically to fund research on low-grade serous ovarian cancer. STAAR partners with a global nonprofit, called Cure Our Ovarian Cancer, that is dedicated to raising money for low-grade research. Together these organizations help make life-saving research happen in the United States. It is likely that money raised and research completed will impact the treatment that I receive during my lifetime. This is amazing!

Highland will be having a couple of different fundraisers this spring, and the proceeds will go to STAAR. The first is a t-shirt fundraiser. A group of my seventh and eighth-grade French students designed the logo, and teal is the official color of ovarian cancer. Here is the link to the t-shirt fundraiser. The online store opens today, Tuesday, February 15, and will close Friday, February 18 at 12 pm. T-shirts will be delivered to Highland Middle School and delivered to students through their Studio Ones. You are welcome to buy t-shirts for your family, too!

The second will be a school-wide fundraiser in March. More information will be shared with students on March 4. We are planning to ask students to wear the t-shirts or teal for an assembly in March.

I am humbled by the support that my staff and students have already shown me this year, and I thank you all, in advance, for your support. As one of my students said, “No One Fights Alone.”

Kerstin Cholewin

*If you’d like to read more about my cancer story, you can click on this link

Check out the Presentation for the fundraiser