BUENA PARK : Drive Raises $13,360 for Ailing Teen-Ager

A fund-raising drive to collect enough money to put an ailing teen-ager on a waiting list for a heart and lung transplant has raised more than $13,360, organizers said Friday.

The latest donation came from a fourth-grade class at Charles G. Emery Elementary School, which raised $450 in pennies that were handed over to Buena Park fire officials Friday.

Fire Capt. Tom Harhay said the drive’s objective is to raise $25,000 to put Noemi Serrano, 18, on a waiting list at Stanford or UCLA medical centers for the transplant.

Serrano is suffering from pulmonary hypertension, a rare condition that doctors say has severely weakened her heart and lung. According to Harhay, Serrano is the only person in Orange or Los Angeles county afflicted by such an illness.

“So far we raised about half the money needed to get Noemi on the transplant waiting list, and ultimately we would like to raise the entire $100,000” needed for the operation, he said.

“It’s been surprising to see the community support here, and outside of Buena Park. We have received donations from as far as Oxnard,” he said.

Locally, many schools are holding fund-raisers, including Buena Park High School and Whitney High School in Cerritos.

The fourth-grade class at Emery raised its money by starting a “Mile of Pennies” drive. Students brought lunch boxes full of pennies to school. They rolled and counted the pennies daily. The children turned over their current funds, half of their goal amount, on Friday.