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Jefferson County teacher honored with dedicated blood drive

By Ainsley Hall - For the Chronicle | May 27, 2022

Ceravalo

CHARLES TOWN — When South Jefferson Elementary School first heard that Denise Ceravalo was diagnosed with stage four cancer, they wanted to find a way to recognize her.

It turned out that Ceravalo needed a blood transfusion, so Ruth Potts shared her idea of holding a blood drive in Ceravalo’s honor. After teaming up with the Red Cross, the school was able to hold the blood drive on May 17.

“It was impressive. They have it down to a science,” said South Jefferson Elementary School Principal Keri Mahoney, mentioning that the blood drive reached its organizer’s goal of 40 donations, during the event.

Ceravalo has taught at South Jefferson Elementary School for 22 years. The news of her diagnosis with malignant stage 4 endometrial cancer in March came as a shock to her, her coworkers and her students.

“[Denise] goes beyond the definition of a coworker,” Mahoney said. “[She is an] example of facing every day with a positive attitude.”

Sometimes life is hard, but Ceravalo has done her best to teach her students to enjoy every moment and not “sweat the small stuff.”

Many of her coworkers have helped support and encourage her, by messaging her, sending her cards and giving her flowers.

Many students have gotten involved in supporting her, as well. According to Mahoney, sharing the news of Ceravalo’s diagnosis with her class was difficult, but her students have all been very encouraging. They’ve made posters and sent cards to help support their teacher through this time in her life.

Mahoney believes that some students have learned from this experience to “look outside themselves.” It has been a challenging school year with this bad news, on top of adjusting to the changing COVID-19 Pandemic guidelines, but Ceravalo’s students have learned through the difficulties to focus on the positive and give back to others.

Though the blood drive has passed, there are still many ways for people to help and get involved. South Jefferson Elementary School has a Relay for Life team, through which the school will continue to raise awareness for people with cancer. A GoFundMe page has been established by Ceravalo’s son, at https://www.gofundme.com/f/denise-ceravalos-fundraiser, to raise funds to cover her treatment costs.

Mahoney added that Ceravalo would tell people to “make sure you do your health screenings,” because it’s important to take care of yourself and your family. She also would tell others to “make sure to savor those little day-to-day moments.”