Students pledge support for an ailing classmate

Tuesday, March 7, 2000 | 9:01 a.m.

More than 1,800 students at Katz-McMillan Elementary School read from their favorite books Friday to help out a fellow fourth-grade student who is seriously ill.

Ryan Pasion, who has aplastic anemia, is waiting for a bone-marrow transplant at the Ronald McDonald House in Los Angeles. Pasion has been in and out of the hospital since before Christmas and not all of his expenses are covered under his parents' insurance. In addition his parents -- still living in Las Vegas -- make the drive to Los Angeles to see him each week.

Students spent the week before the read-a-thon collecting pledges. Each class read for 50 minutes on Friday. At the end of that period the students tallied up how many pages they had read. School officials will know this week how much money was raised.

Pasion's classmates, including members of his Gifted and Talented Education class, and his teacher, John Tomassoni, sponsored the event.

The event, held in conjunction with Nevada Reading Week, gave children an incentive to read and to raise money for their schoolmate, said a mother whose son is a classmate of Pasion. "He's just the sweetest little guy," she said of Pasion.

Outside donors have also been contributing to the cause. For more information, or to contribute, call 799-4350 and ask for Molly Millman.