HUNTERSVILLE – Students at St. Mark Catholic School were recently named the top nationwide school fundraiser in this year’s JDRF, formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Kids Walk Program, raising $61,000.

The school sponsored a March 9 walk for the JDRF, as well as a spirit week, penny wars classroom competition, raffles and pledge solicitations the week prior. The $61,000 is the most raised by any school in the history of the Kids Walk Program.

The school celebrated their accomplishment Wednesday, April 25, with a rally where students heard the news about their record-breaking fundraiser for the first time. Several students at the school have juvenile diabetes, and the school participates in the service project every year.

“We are so excited that our school community embraced this effort and raised such a large amount of money to help kids with diabetes,” said Terri Lango, a St. Mark Catholic School mom with three Type 1 diabetic children. “I think it helped to know that there are children in their own school who deal with Type 1 diabetes each day. The students felt like they were helping their friends when they donated spare change and asked for pledges.”

JDRF, founded in the 1970s by parents of diabetic children, has directly contributed more than $1.6 billion to diabetes research.