For Tomball Memorial High School cheerleaders, September brings more than football games, pep rallies and the familiar rhythm of another school year. It also brings an opportunity to use their visibility on campus for something that reaches far beyond Tomball.

Each September, Tomball Memorial High School Cheer takes part in the annual Gold Rush fundraiser benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, raising money and awareness for children facing cancer and other serious illnesses while giving student-athletes a lesson in leadership that cannot be measured by a competition score.

Over the past two years, the TMHS Cheer program has ranked among the top three fundraising programs, and since Coach Sarah Ellison joined the staff in 2020, the Wildcats have consistently ranked among the top 10 fundraisers in the nation.

For Ellison, however, those rankings are not the part she wants students to remember most.

“When I joined the staff in 2020, I wanted to teach my athletes how to use this platform as a campus leader to make a difference in the lives of others,” Ellison said. “Once our athletes experienced the fundraiser and understood what St. Jude represents, it quickly became something they genuinely cared about.”

A Tomball Memorial Tradition With a Bigger Purpose

Throughout the Gold Rush campaign, TMHS cheerleaders learn about the mission of St. Jude, establish fundraising goals, contact relatives and friends, take part in letter-writing campaigns and find their own ways to encourage community support.

The work gives students an opportunity to see what leadership can look like away from a stadium, mat or sideline.

“They learn perspective, gratitude, empathy, and leadership, which is way more important than learning a cheerleading skill,” Ellison said.

That perspective is especially meaningful within a program built around competition.

“Our athletes are incredibly competitive, and I love that about them,” Ellison said. “But St. Jude gives them an opportunity to step outside of competition and recognize that success isn't always measured by a score, a trophy, or a medal.”

The fundraiser also connects Tomball-area families with a national institution whose work depends heavily on charitable support.

Founded by entertainer Danny Thomas in 1962, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital focuses on research and treatment for childhood cancer and other life-threatening pediatric diseases. The organization says families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, allowing parents to focus on their child rather than those expenses. The majority of St. Jude's funding comes from donors, making community fundraising programs an important part of supporting its research and patient care.

A Moment That Changed One Coach's Perspective

Ellison's connection to St. Jude began years before she became part of the Tomball Memorial High School staff.

During her first visit to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 2012, she was touring the hospital when a father approached her in a hallway. He thanked her for helping raise money for the hospital and explained what that support meant to his family.

Because people were willing to support St. Jude, he told her, he would have the chance to watch his daughter attend prom, graduate from high school and someday get married.

“Those are words I will never ever forget,” Ellison said.

The encounter has stayed with her and continues to shape the way she presents the Gold Rush fundraiser to new generations of Wildcats.

“These children and their families are facing challenges that no child should have to face,” she said. “Being able to contribute, even if it's in a very small way, is incredibly meaningful.”

Several TMHS Cheer athletes have also had the opportunity in recent years to visit St. Jude themselves, giving students a firsthand look at the people and mission behind the fundraising campaign.

Building Leaders Beyond Cheerleading

For Ellison, the team's sustained success is rooted in the culture the program has worked to create.

“Since I joined the Wildcat family, we have worked very hard to build a program where our athletes understand that being a Wildcat cheerleader means representing something bigger than yourself,” she said.

That idea carries particular weight in a high school setting, where cheerleaders often serve as some of the most visible student representatives at games, rallies and community events.

The St. Jude campaign asks them to take that visibility one step further — using personal relationships, school pride and community connections to advocate for children they may never meet.

It is also a reminder that relatively small efforts can accumulate quickly when an entire community participates.

“Every contribution matters,” Ellison said. “It is easy to think that one donation or one letter may not make a significant difference, but when an entire team, school, and community come together, those individual efforts become something incredibly powerful.”

St. Jude says donations help fund treatment, research and patient care, while also supporting a model in which families do not receive bills for treatment, travel, housing or food. The hospital treats and researches childhood cancers and other catastrophic diseases, and charitable donations account for most of the funding needed to support its mission.

What the Gold Rush Means for the Tomball Community

For Tomball Memorial High School, the annual Gold Rush fundraiser has become more than a seasonal service project. It is an example of how students can turn a familiar school role into an avenue for community service.

Families who support a TMHS cheerleader's fundraising effort are not simply helping the team reach another national ranking. They are participating in a wider effort supporting pediatric cancer research, treatment and families navigating some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable.

And for the student-athletes themselves, the experience offers something that may remain with them long after the uniforms, Friday night lights and cheer competitions are memories: an understanding that leadership can be measured by who is helped along the way.

That may ultimately be the most meaningful accomplishment attached to TMHS Cheer's national fundraising success.

As another September Gold Rush campaign moves forward, Tomball Memorial High School Cheer is once again inviting the Tomball community to help turn individual donations, letters and conversations into collective support for St. Jude — one Wildcat at a time.

Stay tuned to My Neighborhood News for more stories highlighting Tomball ISD students, schools and community members making a difference locally and beyond.

By Tiffany Krenek, My Neighborhood News 

Tiffany Krenek has been on the My Neighborhood News team since August 2021. She is passionate about curating and sharing content that enriches the lives of our readers in a personal, meaningful way. A loving mother and wife, Tiffany and her family live in the West Houston/Cypress region.

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