This Means War

Every year for a couple years now, the Saipan SDA School hosts a "penny war." This fundraiser beings in January and ends in May. Classes compete against each other to raise the most pennies, and the winning class wins a class trip to Pacific Island Club for the day.

Nothing gets a school excited about fundraising more than penny wars! One dollar bills = 100 pennies. Last year our penny wars caused a shortage of pennies at all the banks on Saipan, so our students are using more dollar bills now. Silver change (quarters, dimes, nickels), can be put in other classes jars to "minus" them, or deduct from their points.

It was my first time organizing something like this, and together with Jean Goris and Virle Gayatin (fellow office staff) we managed to set up a pretty nice looking penny war. Our banks for the pennies were large 5 gallon water jugs. I labeled each one to each class and we set them up on a large wooden shelf in the office. Every morning before 8am and every afternoon around 3pm students poured into the office to contribute their savings to this momentous event. One class (5th and 6th) took the lead by selling cookies and other baked goods to the other classes after school. Students from the other classes tried to resist, but Chase and Bekah Shireman's snickerdoodles are pretty good.

At the end of this exciting fundraiser our school had raised close to $2,700 in pennies, nickles, dimes, quarters and dollar bills. The money is going towards a gate for the entrance and exit of the school.