By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR

cpastor@tampatrib.com

Published: December 3, 2008

LAKE MAGDALENE - By 9 a.m., Marielle Smith had already logged 2,439 steps.

The Hillel School third-grader was running laps around her school's field, the pedometer on her chest tracking every step. It was part of the recent "Race for Education," a fundraiser for Hillel and the Larry King Cardiac Foundation.

Hillel, a private Jewish school, encourages students and classes to do charitable work and community service annually but decided to direct efforts toward a single cause, heart health, this year.

They'll get a personal thank you in February when CNN broadcaster Larry King comes to their campus with the patient they helped save.

"I think it's pretty cool, because we get to meet a person who we helped make money for," said Marielle, 8.

The Larry King Cardiac Foundation pays for heart screenings, treatments and surgeries for patients who do not have adequate insurance. It will match Hillel's money with a local patient, unnamed for now. Head of School Amy Wasser said Hillel would love to raise enough to afford a bypass but knows that anything it contributes will help. Students had raised more than $8,000 as of last month and hope to reach $10,000.

Fundraisers started in September when students got piggybanks to take home and deposit spare change or part of their allowances. When the banks fill up, they pour the money into a jug at Hillel.

The school dedicated Nov. 21 to raising money and establishing a healthy lifestyle. Children joined the race in the morning, running or walking as much as they could within an hour.

The Paul Mitchell School donated haircuts, and families paid $5 for children's haircuts and $10 for adults, with proceeds going to the foundation.

Classes on aerobics, Pilates and martial arts showed students ways they could keep their hearts healthy. Pepin Heart Hospital also provided cholesterol and body mass index checks, and doctors and nurses held sessions on finding healthy food options at the grocery store and learning to love your body.

King established his cardiac foundation in 1988 after surviving a quintuple bypass surgery the previous year. His son, Larry King Jr., serves as the foundation's president and lives in Tampa.

His three children attend Hillel, prompting the school and foundation connection.

"It's fun for me, because I'm able to help my father and have his grandchildren participate," he said, high-fiving students as they jogged past.

The foundation's work is more important than ever at a time when people are struggling to make ends meet or getting laid off and losing health insurance, King said. Assistance may be available for the indigent, but those in the middle don't qualify for public help and may sacrifice health procedures because they cannot afford them.

That is who the foundation targets.

"They're making a trade-off of a bill with saving their life," he said.

MEET LARRY KING
Broadcaster Larry King will visit Hillel School privately in February to thank students for their fundraisers. While he is in town, he will appear as a guest of honor at a $100-per-plate brunch benefiting his cardiac foundation. The brunch is open to the community and is on Feb. 22. For details, call (813) 265-2862 or visit www.fromthehearttampa.com.

Reporter Courtney Cairns Pastor can be reached at (813) 865-1503.