On Tuesday, August 31st, Mr. Evans’ voice rang out from the announcements to let Ames High know that a collection would be taken up the next day in homeroom to support Quinn Boylston, a second grader at Sawyer Elementary who had been battling brain stem cancer for the last five months. Each student was asked to contribute just one dollar to the cause in the hope of raising over 1,500 dollars. “I was contacted by Catheryn Hockaday,” Mr. Evans said, “They were fundraising at Sawyer and they wanted us to be aware of the situation since we his siblings go to Ames High. We decided that asking for donations in homeroom was the quickest way to raise funds.” In total, the student body raised $2,166.65. An impressive figure, but the support did not stop there. The following Friday, organized by facebook and forwarded texts, a large number of the student body came to school dressed in gray, the official color of brain cancer. “I was really happy that we live in a great community where we can do this,” Quinn’s brother, Orion Boylston said. “We’ve gotten a lot of support over the last five months” Little did many of the supportive students know that on that same Friday, Quinn passed away in Iowa City at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital surrounded by his family. At the football game that Friday, the band took a moment of silence between Ames High Loyalty and the National anthem in honor of Quinn. “It was very classy to think of someone in a moment of need,” Mr. Evans said. “I thought our students were wonderful. They’ve stepped up and shown the maturity to think outside themselves and of someone else.” "I just want to thank everyone for your support,” Orion Boylston said.