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HW Middle Students Raise $3,000+ for St. Jude’s Hospital
Hazelwood West Middle School students take their coin contests seriously as students challenged each other in penny wars to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is located in Memphis, TN and treats children with cancer and other catastrophic illnesses. Penny wars work using an opposite point method. Any pennies donated equal a positive total while any other coins translate into negative points.
“Each grade-level team had a bucket,” said Ed Dafflitto, the school’s gifted education teacher. He tracked the points for the teams. “For every penny donated, the team received a point. Dollar bills were worth double points and silver coins took away points.
“It was exciting to watch,” he continued. “Last year was really good, too, but we raised $1,000 more this year than we did last year.”
Some of the students explained the effort was more than about who could donate the most pennies.
“It makes me feel really good inside that we’re saving lives,” said eighth grader Emily Bublitz. She said she has a cousin who has cancer.
Team 8B won the contest, bringing in $966.84, while the entire school collected $3,276.75 for the hospital.
Dafflitto pointed out that the total dollars collected includes money from other school fund raising events, such as the annual math-a-thon. Students seek out local sponsors who, for example, might agree to pay 25 cents for each correct math problem a student solves. Another $1,000 came from students who paid $1 to play basketball during their lunch hours.
