Genoa's Walnut Street Daycare Center children ride trikes, raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

GENOA — Bella Odom's goal was to raise $100 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Bella, a 4-year-old at Walnut Street Daycare Center, blew past her goal by raising $600, more than any other child at Walnut Street, with donations from family, friends and sponsors.

"I got very lots of money to help kids get better," Bella said.

About 60 students participated Friday in the daycare's first Trike-A-Thon. They rode their tricycles in a circle in the daycare's parking lot for about half an hour. The event marked a culmination of a fundraiser that raised more than $3,000 for St. Jude, said preschool teacher Sarah Sundquist.

In August, the daycare's approximate 120 children were asked to raise money to benefit sick children and their families. The more they raised, the more perks they received, such as t-shirts, puppets and Pillow Pets, preschool teacher Kristen Tatroe said.

Walnut Streethas students ranging in age from infants to 5 years old.

Children also spent the week learning about bicycle safety, such as not riding in the street, looking out for driveways and watching where they are going, Tatroe said. Teachers showed them one-minute clips each day with a different bike lesson.

Sundquist said she hoped the children learned how to help other people.

"The main goal was to teach that on top of the importance of bike safety," she said.

Both Sundquist and Tatroe said the students learned a lot during the activities.

"They totally understood we were making money for sick kids," Tatroe said. "They may not know St. Jude's, but they absolutely understood that."

Kingston resident Sara Hoecherl's son, Dylan Curtis, 4, raised just over $300 with the help of Facebook friends. Dylan was one of two children riding a two-wheeled bike at the Trike-A-Thon. He also wore a dinosaur helmet with yellow horns.

Hoecherl said she was proud her son was able to raise so much money. She was surprised by how many people were able to provide donations. Almost $150 of the money Dylan raised were cash donations, his mother said.

Hoecherl also said Dylan learned about empathy.

"He said, 'We have to give money to the sick children at the hospital,' " she said.

Bella Odom's mother, Misty Odom, said she was surprised how motivated her daughter was to raise money even though she did not previously know what a fundraiser was.

Misty Odom said she recently taught her daughter a new word: determination.

"She learned hard work pays off," Misty Odom said.