Pair Raises Money for Cancer

Whiz Kids' Names, Ages: Amanda VanNess and Nina DePalma, both sophomores, both 16

Whiz Kids' School: Jefferson Township High School

Whiz Kid's Accomplishment: Amanda and Nina helped raise $800 for the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, while fulfilling the requirements for a project for DECA (Distributive Education Club of America), a class that both girls take. The project, called “Everybody Knows Someone,” was meant to memorialize people with cancer.

The pair designed paper hearts that could be purchased for $1. Purchasers could then write the name of a person they knew who had suffered with cancer. All the hearts were displayed on a board at the school.

Along with the project, the girls completed a 14-page manual describing the marketing plan they put into place.

Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness:  "Between us, Nina and I could think of at last 10 people we know who had cancer," VanNess said. "We figured that if we knew that many, lots of other people did too. So we just figured, why not do the fundraiser?"