Heaven Sent is hosting their annual Trike-a-thon today, and will continue to accept donations for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital until March 25.

“We want to help raise money for medicine and all the health things that the doctors need, so the kids can home and maybe ride their bicycles, too,” said Claudette Rogers, owner of Heaven Sent Learning Center. “It’s more than just treatment, it’s research. It’s a win, win all the way around.”

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will accept and treat any child, while no family will ever receive a bill. Fundraising events like Heaven Sent’s Trike-a-thon help make this possible.

Rogers said that St. Jude always sends back a report of what their money specifically is funding, down to the cent.

“One year we bought a wheelchair for a child to use while they were in treatments,” Rogers said. “We have bought several chemotherapy plans and even oxygen for so many days.

Last year we had maybe $30 left over, and that went to provide for entertainment for the children. While they are sick, they are children.”

The students at Heaven Sent have made every effort of raising the money themselves. The class that raises the most money will be rewarded with a party, and St. Jude even sends rewards to the kids, as well. For every $35 a student raises, St. Jude will send a T-shirt to them. For every $100, the student will receive a backpack from the hospital.

Leading up to the Trike-a-thon, the students have spent the entire week focusing on different aspects of bicycle and tricycle safety, such as wearing a helmet. The students will practice everything they’ve learned during the Trike-a-thon.

This year, the goal for the Trike-a-thon is to raise at least $500.

“Some years we will raise hundreds, others we raise thousands,” Rogers said. The donations are flat, meaning that it is not a donation per lap that a student makes on his or her bicycle or tricycle.

“Every cause is a good cause, but this touches so many people,” Rogers said.