North County Technical High School raised $850 in Penny Wars. The money benefitted the Special Education Foundation Kid-to-Camp initiative with a $250 campership, along with North Tech’s Give and Grow Program, which supports students with school supplies and uniforms.
Teacher Barbara Schipp conceived of Penny Wars as a way to have fun while raising money. Pairs of classrooms, one academic and one technical, competed by filling their jars with pennies, which counted as a point each. If someone put in silver coins or bills, that amount was deducted from the points for that jar. So students put pennies in their own jars and silver coins and bills in other classrooms’ jars.
The teacher in the winning class was resourceful, calling Embassy Suites in St. Charles and asking for the coins out of their fountain. This windfall put them over the top, and they had a party to celebrate.
Social Worker Krista Sherman made seven trips to a bank to use the counting machine, saying “I have never seen so much change in my life!”
Thank you, North Tech!