By: Ashley Chen
Pennies for Patients, which was between April 23 and May 4, aimed to collect money for patients suffering from leukemia and lymphoma, Chair of Classroom Collection Alfa Belen said. This year, MHS raised $1688.50 out of the $2018 goal, and 100% of the proceeds will go towards the patients’ treatments.
Events held to collect donations included Pay to Pie, Stuck for a Buck, and Pay Not to Play, according to Activities Director Joanna Butcher. These events were suggested by Leukemia and Lymphoma society, and the Pay to Pie idea was previously successful with CLOGS to raise money for their philanthropies, she continued.
“The committee rallied really hard, and they had some early failures, but they rallied really hard and came through and met their goals definitely in regard to the activities side,” Butcher said. “They wanted the whole three activities and they were hoping to raise somewhere between $250 and $300 just from those activities and [they raised] about $250.”
English Teacher Carlos Lorenzana volunteered to be taped up against a wall for Stuck for a Buck, he said. He thought that it was an unique idea for fundraising, and was happy to participate, he continued.
“The Leukemia and Lymphoma society is a very good cause,” Lorenzana said. “People in our lives have been affected by cancer, so I don’t mind being stuck to a wall to raise money for that.”
There were some people who were offended by the idea of Pay Not to Play, in which the song “Friday” by Rebecca Black would play until $100 was reached, Butcher said. It was only meant for fun and to get people in the spirit of donating, she continued.
“It wasn’t intended to hurt anybody and it wasn’t intended to cause strife,” Butcher said. “It was just supposed to be something fun, and it was supposed to be raised over a two week period.”
Although the song did not play since the goal was reached, if it did it would have caused more harm than fun, Junior Thi Han said. It was a good idea to raise money, but she didn’t like it, she continued.
“If you were in a class trying to have a discussion with somebody or trying to take a test since a lot of teachers offer retakes or make-ups during lunch, having the song play all throughout lunch would be just annoying and make it hard to talk to people without yelling and hurting your throat,” Han said.
A disappointing aspect of Pennies for Patients this year was the level of awareness that students had regarding what leukemia and lymphoma is and what the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society does, Butcher said. She hoped that there would have been events such as different tabling during lunch where students could learn about things such as how leukemia and lymphoma could affect them and what their symptoms were, she continued.
“My intent and hope was that we figure out a cause that can be near and dear to those around us, something community related, and thinking that leukemia is the ‘childhood cancer,’ I thought that that would be easier to relate to in order to donate,” Butcher said. “I think a community and generation think about going on missions, and we have students that do some amazing work when they go to areas that are considered borderline Second World or Third World areas, and donate their time, money, and effort, and I think sometimes we forget about that there’s so many people here that struggle.”
It’s important for students to be involved in Pennies for Patients because giving back to the community is something so rare that students don’t really have a chance to do, Belen said. It makes a big impact to patients everywhere and students do know people who have suffered from these illnesses, she continued.
“[Pennies for Patients] really makes a difference and I feel like students can definitely be a lot more more involved because we are so caught up with the media,” Belen said. “We tend to focus on our own problems when we should be also focusing on other people’s problems too.”