Johnstown students offer lesson in caring

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marc Schultz

Pictured from left, Becky Hart, Rebecca Wager and Ann Blackwood are honored at an assembly on Wednesday morning at Knox Junior High School in Johnstown.

The students of Knox Junior High School in Johnstown had a Christmas gift for the patients of New York Oncology Hemotology of Amsterdam Wednesday morning — in fact, they had four sacks full of gifts.

A handful of students carried the sacks out on the stage of the auditorium following a holiday concert by the school band.

“We know it’s a tough battle and we support you all the way,” said Jacob Stewart, an eighth-grader and president of the student council.

The bags contained 45 heart-shaped pillows handmade by the students of Linda Rusnica’s life sciences class, each tagged with an inspirational quote.

The students also presented $500 in gift cards, the result of months of fundraising.

Dr. Karen Tedesco, an oncologist at NYOH, said she was “very touched” by the generosity of the school community.

“The holidays can be a very happy time of year for many of us, but for people who are going through health problems, financial problems or family problems, they can be a particularly difficult time of year, and unfortunately many of my patients are dealing with all of those problems at the same time,” she said. “So your generosity at this time of year in particular is very much appreciated.”

Tedesco has been treating Becky Hart, a math teacher at the school, who just finished chemotherapy for breast cancer and will soon start radiation. It was Hart, in large part,

who inspired the students to launch their campaign to support her and others fighting cancer.

Hart was joined onstage Wednesday morning by two other teachers at the school who have survived cancer.

“I love that they’re paying it forward,” Hart said after the ceremony. “This is just an example of how wonderful they are.”

When students heard of Hart’s diagnosis, they pulled together a fundraising campaign selling bracelets and magnets with a “GJSD [Greater Johnstown School District] Has Hart” motto, which then spread to T-shirts. At the modified football team’s final home game near the end of October, all the players wore pink socks and the teachers who have survived or are currently battling cancer were honored at the 50-yard line.

Stewart, a tight end on the team, said the students of the school district were eager to buy and wear the bracelets and magnets “to show that we care about all of our teachers and all affected by breast cancer in our community.”

The $500 went toward gift cards for Stewart’s Shops and Price Chopper, places Hart has learned through experience will make a big difference to people undergoing cancer treatment. At the Amsterdam clinic, she said, she’s met people who travel more than an hour several times a week.

“I know how much it takes going back and forth, and you have to do it two, three times a week,” she said. “I just felt like that was a good way to spend the money, was through gas cards and things like that.”

Hart has mostly taken a back seat in the efforts, awed by the students’ support but avoiding the spotlight. “I don’t like a lot of fanfare and hoopla,” she said.

Tedesco said Hart has been a “pleasure” to work with, always confronting her treatment with a smile on her face.

“Despite not being here teaching you math this fall, she’s taught you a lot of other things by the great example she’s set,” Tedesco said to students at the assembly. “She’s taught you about being resilient, how to battle through a difficult time in your life while maintaining a positive attitude. And she’s taught you about being generous and compassionate to those in your community who may be less fortunate thant you are.”

Those are lessons, she said, she hopes the students carry with them for life.