Shortly after 8 a.m. on Dec. 16, several hundred students flooded the 9/10 building cafeteria of Southern Regional High School, most of them prepared to hand over a $5 or $10 bill with a purpose in mind – it was pancake time.

“One of our English teachers had a student who was going to be absent today and gave her a $50 bill yesterday,” said administrator Susan Craig, part of the organization team for a “Pancakes for Matt” breakfast fundraiser to benefit student Matt Adams.