Photo by Daniel Leonard

As the the carnival began, people started to trickle into the colorful event. Later on. the cafeteria was jam-packed with carnival participants and little kids running around.

On Saturday, Feb. 7, WJ held a carnival to help raise money for the annual month-long Pennies for Patients (P4P) fundraiser to help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Since it was first founded in 1949, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has been dedicated to funding blood cancer research. This year, WJ’s leadership class set a goal of raising $50,000.

Filled with excited kids, exhausted parents and exuberant volunteers, the carnival started off with a big bang. A face painting station, games, a bounce house and prizes helped the student government put the fun in fundraising. Games such as the sandbox game and the toilet bowl gave kids the opportunity to win a stamp, and pick out a prize, but how much work did it take to organize? Who were the people who made the posters, helped set up the games and make it a big hit? 

One member of the carnival team was junior Vanessa Lesmes, who ran the Sand Box game. The point of the game is to take three roles of toilet paper and get them in a toilet shaped bowl.

“My favorite part of the carnival was seeing all the kids run around and win prizes. I really loved that,” said Lesmes.

For some people, the carnival is an opportunity to earn student service learning (SSL) hours, or a chance to hang out with their friends, but for others, including Lesmes, what really matters is seeing the kids smiling and having the opportunity to be a part of a great cause.

The carnival is only one of many P4P events that WJ does to support cancer research. Each year WJ’s student government works month after month to plan each event down to the last detail.

Senior Christine Nyangwenyo, a member of the student government, dedicated her free time behind the scenes to helping make the carnival happen along with Justin New and the whole student government.  These students dedicate their free time for months to make it all happen. They rose to the challenge of making families, friends and other community members happy all within a short amount of time at the event.

“The biggest part about being in the carnival was that generally it was a fun project and we all got to work together. In the end we raised a lot of money and [that’s] the most important thing. Getting the whole community involved in school activities is something that unites us and makes us stronger,” said Nyangwenyo.

As a runner, Nyangwenyo’s job was to help the people who needed help, everyone from the game coordinators to the people in charge of the event.

For Nyangwenyo, it is a combination of seeing friends and raising money for a great cause that makes it a great use of her time. She also mentioned how excited she is for the other Pennies for Patients events because everyone is so passionate about them.

With all the hard work of Lesmes, Nyangwenyo, and many others poured into it, the carnival was a big hit and raised around $5,000 while at the same time providing a great time for all.