*Featured in the Feb. 15 print issue
On Feb. 2, hundreds of children flocked to the first Pennies for Patients Winter Carnival held at WJ. The event was open to not only students from WJ, but also to all students from its feeder schools. Organized by the leadership class, the carnival aimed to raise money for the month-long fundraiser benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
SGA President Chris McCurry said many kids attended, including students from Tilden and North Bethesda middle schools, as well as Farmland, Luxmanor and Wyngate elementary schools. The leadership class took advantage of the diverse crowd, and created some friendly competition among the different feeder schools by holding a money donation competition. Students and their parents could drop money into their school’s corresponding money collection jug to see which school could raise the most for Pennies for Patients. Wyngate ultimately donated the highest amount, raising several hundred dollars.
Complete with music, food, raffles, moon bounces, video arcade games, prizes and a mechanical bull, the carnival required extensive planning and organization. McCurry said that in the leadership class, the students were split into groups to brainstorm fundraising ideas for Pennies for Patients. McCurry and the other members of his group came up with the original idea for a carnival.
“We thought about how the event would run from start to finish and thought about everything that could possibly happen,” said McCurry. “We contacted all… the necessary volunteers to make sure we had people to fill in for the stations that we needed. Basically, we just thought about every single thing that, if we were at the carnival participating, we would want to see.”
Many volunteers worked at the carnival, including parents and students. As a member of the leadership class and one of the many students who volunteered, senior Cori Caggiano helped run the cakewalk, a game of musical chairs with the winner receiving a cake for a prize.
“We were totally taken by surprise with the large turnout rate,” said Caggiano. “At the cakewalk we really had to get creative because there were so many kids that wanted to play.”
Junior Bobby Ellett said both his younger brother and sister, who attend Tilden, went to the carnival and brought their friends from Tilden and Farmland. Ellett also volunteered at the carnival, helping to run several of the games, including Shockwave, Duck Hunt and the Plate Toss.
“The carnival was an amazing fundraiser and community-building event,” said Ellett. “It was such an awesome experience, interacting with the kids attending the carnival. It feels really good to be part of an event that raises money for such a great cause.”
The carnival was able to raise nearly $15,000 for Pennies for Patients, and most of the volunteers and organizers agreed that the event was a success. Although the winter carnival was implemented for the first time this year, the leadership class hopes that the event’s success could give it the potential to be repeated in future years and eventually become a WJ tradition.
“It was insane, and I’m so proud of our class for putting this huge event together,” said Caggiano. “We totally pulled it off and the carnival definitely was a success for the Pennies for Patients fundraising effort.”
While the carnival was able to raise a significant amount of money and was a good start to the fundraiser, McCurry emphasized that WJ still has a ways to go before it reaches its ultimate goal of $60,000.
“Pennies for Patients is a month-long event,” said McCurry, “so we need to keep pushing.”