Can you spell brouhaha? Shoot some hoops? These are just two of the ideas that have been used for fundraisers for a good cause. Better yet, students came up with the ideas themselves  to run and manage the whole event. Fundraisers such as the Nothing But Nets basketball tournament for malaria prevention, Spelling Bee contest for the Lupus Foundation, and the Bowl-O-Rama for the Best Buddies program are all projects that are held by the Leadership class taught by social studies teacher Nico Atencio. All students must organize events, excluding annual school occasions such as pep rallies.

“[Students in the leadership class] all come up with their own events [to lead],” said Atencio.

10 or 11 events are scheduled throughout the semester. According to Atencio, the number of events has been increasing every year, due to the enthusiasm of students.

“There is a lot more investment, and that leads to having much more pride and purpose in what they’re doing,” he said.

Best Buddies Bowl-O-Rama

The third annual Best Buddies Bowl-O-Rama, organized by seniors Gabriela Marquez, Anna Peterson and Shelby Benedicto, was held on Dec. 7 at Strike Bethesda.

The event raised $1,929 for the WJ chapter of Best Buddies while giving club members the opportunity to have fun together. Each participant paid $15, and played in teams of 6-8 people. 

“I had to have people sign up everyday at lunch,” said Marquez, one of the leaders. “It took a lot of work, but in the end it was all worth it.”

Spelling Bee for Lupus Awareness

* This article has been modified from its original version.

The spelling bee, organized by seniors Ben Kleckner, Jake Gallagher and Michael Vessels, was held on Dec. 3 and raised $304 for the American Lupus foundation.

“In an autoimmune disorder like lupus, the immune system cannot tell the difference between foreign substances and its own cells and tissues,” according to Lupus.org, the official website of the American Lupus Foundation. “The immune system then makes antibodies directed against itself. These antibodies–called “auto-antibodies” (auto means ‘self’) –cause inflammation, pain and damage in various parts of the body.”

Each participant was allowed to ask for a sentence using the word, part of speech of the word, and the language of origin of the word.  A variety of words were featured, such as “delicatessen,” “repertoire” and “gazpacho.”  More than 30 students and teachers participated in the contest. Rounds were held until only two spellers were left to face off. 

The final round was a show-down between seniors David Riva, Michael Riva, and Owen Benge. After trading few words, Benge won. 

Owen Benge, who won a Chipotle gift card, described how he felt after winning.

“I’m very exuberant, if you can spell that,” said Benge. “I’m glad I could help out for a good cause.”

The spelling bee was only one of the numerous events that were held since the beginning of the school year.

Nothing but Nets Basketball Tournament

The Nothing but Nets fundraiser, organized by seniors David Riva, Andrew Jacobs, and Sam Robins, was held on Nov. 14  and raised more than $1700 for The United Nations Nothing but Nets charity. All money will go towards buying mosquito nets to prevent the spread of Malaria in Africa. 

29 teams participated in the tournament, including a teacher’s team that featured social studies teachers Mike Williams and Ty Healey, and Assistant Principal Chris Merrill. Organizers also collected money from classes and passed donation boxes around during the tournament in an effort to raise more money. 

“It was much more than the amount of money we projected to raise,” said Jacobs. “It was great and fun experience in itself.”

Robins was impressed by the turnout.

“It went really well, and a lot of people came out,” said Robins. “Maybe I wasn’t expecting much, but it was pretty incredible how much support we got from people.”