HAMMOND — Hammond Central School elementary and middle school students recently raised more than $7,300 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

This marks the second year in a row that Hammond Central students participated in the St. Jude’s Math-a-thon fundraiser.

St. Jude’s Math-a-thon is a national fundraising effort that encourages students to work on grade-level appropriate math skills, while raising money for the organization. Participating students receive a “fun book” of math problems, and gather sponsorships based on the number of math problems they complete.

Math teachers Christine Warren and Emily Frickey organized the fundraising effort.

Last year, elementary students exceeded their fundraising goal of $3,000, and set a goal of $6,000 for this school year.

This year, the fundraiser was expanded to the middle school, and students exceeded their goal, raising more than $7,300.

“We are so proud of the work our students did to raise money for the children’s hospital. St. Jude’s motto for the fundraiser is ‘kids help kids’ and the math-a-thon provides a multi-faceted learning experience for our students,” Warren said.

Warren hopes to participate in the math-a-thon again next year, with an even higher fundraising goal.

“We’ve exceeded our goal two years in a row, so I think we can do it again next year,” said Warren.