Tynan Elementary School staff donate blood to help save the life of a teacher’s 3-year-old daughter

BOSTON – The staff and students at the Tynan Elementary School in South Boston are learning about giving to others this holiday season in a very special way. The school community is rallying in support of three-year-old Charlotte Kelly, daughter of Patrice Kelly, who teaches at the school. Today, more than 15 Tynan teachers visited Children’s Hospital to volunteer as blood donors to help Charlotte in her fight against cancer.

Since her diagnosis with neuroblastoma cancer, now in stage four, Charlotte has undergone surgery, chemotherapy, stem cell transplant, and other treatments. The chemotherapy has depleted Charlotte’s body of platelets, so Patrice Kelly’s colleagues at the Tynan are doing their part to help. Today, the Tynan principal, teachers, and other staff traveled in shifts to Children’s Hospital to donate blood that could be used to help replenish Charlotte’s platelet supply.

The community center adjacent to the school donated the use of its van and driver to transport the donors, and teachers helped cover one another’s classes while their colleagues were at the hospital.
Patrice Kelly has been a speech and language therapist at the Tynan Elementary School for the past 13 years. She and her husband Greg live in Braintree with their three children. The Tynan community has supported the Kelly family since Charlotte’s cancer was first diagnosed. Students made Christmas cards in class to send to Charlotte in the hospital.