South Woods Middle School in Syosset recently raised the incredible sum of $27,500 for The Maurer Foundation, a non-profit organization that seeks to educate women of all ages about methods of breast cancer prevention.

As an annual activity, the sixth, seventh and eighth grades select a charity specializing in breast cancer for which to raise funds. The students collect those funds by asking community members to sponsor them in a series of charitable walks held prior to the school day.

The school raised more money for charity through this year's walk than it had through any of its previous ones.

Funds generated from several smaller school events, such as a pasta dinner, were also contributed to The Maurer Foundation, but the majority of the collection came from the early-morning treks around the school track.

Students chose The Maurer Foundation as their 1999 recipient after several volunteers from the foundation visited South Woods both this year and last year, involving the kids in a variety of educational programs. "It's a great school with some really great kids, and they're really fun to work with," said Karin Coifman, associate director of the Virginia Maurer Foundation.

Earlier this year the foundation held a tea for eighth-grade girls and their mothers, providing them with a comfortable environment in which to discuss breast cancer prevention techniques.

Last year, foundation volunteers spoke with about 200 sixth-graders about maintaining a healthy diet and discussed how proper nutrition reduces the odds of breast cancer.

Though the foundation has run many programs for high-schoolers and adults, the sixth-grade class was one of its youngest audiences ever. Yet, the program was so successful, said Coifman, that "it actually has given us the idea to create a newer educational program for younger students."

Coifman said that indoctrinating sixth-grade students about a proper diet is likely to be more effective than teaching the same subject to high-schoolers because the former are still developing dietary habits.

The usual programs that The Maurer Foundation offers are geared toward high-school and college students, and adults. These programs all stress the importance of regular breast self-examination, getting mammograms, maintaining a proper diet and remaining physically active.

The organization also dispels the myths of breast cancer, and appeals to the emotional concerns of women.

The foundation's adult programs are the most comprehensive, including the latest information on medical research and breakthroughs.

"Breast cancer is an extremely visible and popular topic today, and women receive a lot of conflicting information about it and don't know how to interpret it for themselves," said Coifman. "We break it down so they know what's relevant, and they feel like they have more of a handle on it."

The foundation also holds a training-certification program for volunteers from other organizations who would like to teach the methods of breast cancer prevention.

The Maurer Foundation's web site is set up like a virtual classroom, where one can peruse through a variety of educational information and occasionally even chat with medical experts online. The foundation's web address is www.maurer-foundation.org and the phone number is 367-6156.