Ewan Lill, a second grader at Lakeridge Elementary, loves superheroes, Legos and books. He’s also fighting Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Wanting to show their support and help raise money for cancer research, members of the Lakeridge K-Kids club organized a campaign to sell orange rubber bracelets, with “K-Kids Cure Cancer” printed on them, at $3 apiece.

They quickly sold out of their first 500 bracelets, while also collecting additional donations. The fundraiser has brought in about $5,000 so far, according to parent volunteers.

K-Kids advisor and Lill’s teacher, Barbara Tivnan, said it was a kid-driven effort. K-Kids is a Kiwanis after-school club that prepares elementary students to become engaged community members through service leadership and projects.

The 40 students in the club split into different teams, from finance to poster making. They also made a video, featuring a classmate’s interview with Lill, to help people learn more about leukemia.

Lill was diagnosed with leukemia last summer. He has missed some class time due to treatments, which at times he’s needed every other day.

His mom, Jenny Harrington, said that Lill is now in remission, but not totally cancer free. He still goes to the hospital about every 10 days, but his friends are glad to have him in school more. They’re also proud of their project, which took a few months to organize.

“I’m so happy at recess, because I look around and see a whole bunch of orange,” said one of his classmates, Elijah Glick.

K-Kids write thank you cards for teachers and community members who helped them with their fundraising project at their May 4 meeting. Katie Metzger/staff photo

Members of the K-Kids “finance team” count the money raised from the bracelet fundraiser. They brought in about $5,000. Katie Metzger/staff photo

The bracelets have “K-Kids Cure Cancer” printed on them. Katie Metzger/staff photo