Schools

Spare Change Adding up in Coin Drive for Kayla

Classmates at Lu Sutton Elementary School and several others are rally to help a second-grader recovering from brain tumor surgery.

Novato has been relentless in its support of 7-year-old as she fights cancer, and her classmates at are doing their part with a coin drive.

Since Jan. 6, coin boxes have been placed in classrooms and kids have brought in small change that eventually will help the Dehnert family with Kayla’s medical bills. In just four days, the kids collected $1,683, according to family friend Nicole Choi.

“And it’s still going strong,” Choi said. “Now the fever has spread and other Novato schools are now starting their own coin boxes. People are stepping up in so many ways big and small, and each time they do we all feel a sense of a community bound together to help one of our own families. It is amazing to see what these children can do.”

Find out what's happening in Novatowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Kayla is underoing radiation treatment at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Nashville after the removal of a cancerous brain tumor at UC San Francisco Medical Center.

The coins are adding up. Ross Ingels, a Lu Sutton dad and a family friend, carried out a five-gallon bucket full of spare change and said it felt like it weighed 100 pounds, Choi said.

Find out what's happening in Novatowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Lu Sutton kids have stayed in contact with Kayla by writing letters and signing cards. The public can read about updated on a blog written by Kayla’s mother, Annie Dehnert, and supporters can write messages on a new Facebook page.

Several restaurants have donated proceeds from dine & donate events to the Dehnert family as well, and the city of Novato is donating the use of the for “” set for Feb. 10. Event organizers are accepting donations of items that can be placed in the silent or live auction.

Tickets are $30 and unlimited drink tickets are $20. Click here for tickets.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here