Ponder On Providing Pennies To Patients
Pioneer students donate once again to help those in need around the world.
By Bella Ramos-Khajavi
Pioneer students donate once again to help those in need around the world.
By Bella Ramos-Khajavi
Pioneer’s annual Pennies for Patients is back this spring season with the goal of raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Pennies for Patients, also known as “Light the Night,” is a fundraiser spanning decades. Each year, service learning also chooses a current non-US related charity to also raise money for.
The service learning class, led by history teacher Mike Burrell, collected money from all English classes for from March 13 to 31. The donations were given to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, whose mission is to invest into further research about these illnesses and provide affordable care to patients. Along with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, teachers had the option to split the money they collected with the Turkey and Syria Earthquake Relief Fund, this year’s non-US related charity, which helps support those affected by the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria with shelter and food supplies.
This year, English department chair Beth Stafford won, bringing in $1,085, followed by Ryan Alpers who collected over $500. In total, Pioneer students raised $3,518.
“At this point in time, almost everyone has known someone directly or indirectly who has dealt with cancer and understands the need for more cancer research,” said service learning student Alexandra Cairns, 11.
English teacher Kathleen Quint believes that classes with upperclassmen are more likely to have more donations due to their previous knowledge about the fundraiser.
“I think that sometimes when you teach all seniors you might collect more because 12th graders know about the program,” said Quint.
Stafford, who collected the most donations both this year and last year, encouraged her students to donate in interactive and engaging ways.
“(My students) seem very enthusiastic. They ask how we’re doing in the standings. They always want to know how much money we’ve raised and if we’re in the lead or how we’re doing and they bring donations often,” said Stafford. “Every single day, every single class period, I talk about it, I remind them, I pass the box around, I shake the box and I say, ‘The box is hungry, you need to feed the box.’ We talk about it a lot, (and) they’re probably tired of hearing me talk about the box.”
There are two different tiers that classes can reach with donations. If a class raises $1,000, then they are awarded with a pizza party and if a class raises $500 they are rewarded with a dessert bar. Student Isabella Wight, 12, was encouraged to donate because of the incentives set by service learning.
“I donated this year because I regret not really contributing anything last year and I wanted to be able to get my class that pizza party for our senior year,” said Wight.
Junior Mariana Paredes and her fellow students showed their excitement by donating any amount of money.
“Other students and I show enthusiasm by donating for this important cause, hoping we can make a small change,” said Paredes.
Cairns believes that Pennies for Patients is an easy and successful way to fundraise for important organizations on the local level.
“Pennies for Patients is such a great fundraiser to have annually because it is so simple and effective. Students may not think of themselves as ‘philanthropists’ in concrete terms but giving in any respect is appreciated just as greatly,” said Cairns.
The service learning class, led by history teacher Mike Burrell, collected money from all English classes for from March 13 to 31. The donations were given to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, whose mission is to invest into further research about these illnesses and provide affordable care to patients. Along with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, teachers had the option to split the money they collected with the Turkey and Syria Earthquake Relief Fund, this year’s non-US related charity, which helps support those affected by the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria with shelter and food supplies.
This year, English department chair Beth Stafford won, bringing in $1,085, followed by Ryan Alpers who collected over $500. In total, Pioneer students raised $3,518.
“At this point in time, almost everyone has known someone directly or indirectly who has dealt with cancer and understands the need for more cancer research,” said service learning student Alexandra Cairns, 11.
English teacher Kathleen Quint believes that classes with upperclassmen are more likely to have more donations due to their previous knowledge about the fundraiser.
“I think that sometimes when you teach all seniors you might collect more because 12th graders know about the program,” said Quint.
Stafford, who collected the most donations both this year and last year, encouraged her students to donate in interactive and engaging ways.
“(My students) seem very enthusiastic. They ask how we’re doing in the standings. They always want to know how much money we’ve raised and if we’re in the lead or how we’re doing and they bring donations often,” said Stafford. “Every single day, every single class period, I talk about it, I remind them, I pass the box around, I shake the box and I say, ‘The box is hungry, you need to feed the box.’ We talk about it a lot, (and) they’re probably tired of hearing me talk about the box.”
There are two different tiers that classes can reach with donations. If a class raises $1,000, then they are awarded with a pizza party and if a class raises $500 they are rewarded with a dessert bar. Student Isabella Wight, 12, was encouraged to donate because of the incentives set by service learning.
“I donated this year because I regret not really contributing anything last year and I wanted to be able to get my class that pizza party for our senior year,” said Wight.
Junior Mariana Paredes and her fellow students showed their excitement by donating any amount of money.
“Other students and I show enthusiasm by donating for this important cause, hoping we can make a small change,” said Paredes.
Cairns believes that Pennies for Patients is an easy and successful way to fundraise for important organizations on the local level.
“Pennies for Patients is such a great fundraiser to have annually because it is so simple and effective. Students may not think of themselves as ‘philanthropists’ in concrete terms but giving in any respect is appreciated just as greatly,” said Cairns.