Rejection of sugar reaps sweet reward

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The widow of the man who created the Atkins Diet has promised $16,000 to a Fort Lauderdale elementary school, ensuring that students who refused to sell candy as a fundraiser can still take a field trip to Washington, D.C.

After learning about the importance of exercising and eating healthfully in a county wellness program, students at North Side Elementary refused to sell candy to raise the field-trip money.

Veronica Atkins, whose late husband, Dr. Robert Atkins, started the country's low-carbohydrate diet craze, found out about the students' refusal and said she would send a check from the foundation she heads, which works to combat type II diabetes.

"I was so proud when the children said, 'You're telling us not to go out and eat sugar, and then you ask us to sell it,' " Atkins said Monday. "I said no way am I going to let them down and not let them go on the field trip."

Atkins, 68, plans to hand a check this morning to North Side Principal Michaelle Valbrun-Pope.

Her donation will make the Washington, D.C., trip possible for 36 fifth-graders, Valbrun-Pope said. If the school receives more money, more fifth-graders who hadn't planned to take the field trip may be able to, she said.

Atkins' largess wasn't the only donation to the school. Since last Friday, the school has received about 100 e-mails from Uganda to Chicago, dozens of phone calls and personal checks, including one for $6,000 from an anonymous donor. Those who didn't offer money shared fundraising ideas.

Daphnie Auguste, an assertive 10-year-old who led the charge to boycott candy sales, said she was surprised that people from "all over the country" knew about her school's dilemma.

"People really cared about us going to Washington, D.C., ... and I feel that they really want to help," she said.