Coin Wars benefits four deserving charities
Coin Wars was, as always, a success. With the hard work of those in Aurora For Others and the generous donations of students and faculty, nearly $10,000 was raised for various charities.
This year, four charities benefited from the hard work at Aurora High School. Comfort Cases is an organization which provides children in the foster care system with bags for their belongings as well as essential items such as clothes, toys and blankets. This way, children in foster care feel more at ease about their situation.
House of Hope’s mission is to help those struggling with addiction to drugs and alcohol overcome by giving them a safe environment. Patients are able to live resident housing or attend meetings at times convenient for their work or school schedule.
Alchemy Acres is an animal sanctuary which operates on a no-kill policy, giving every single animal a chance of finding a loving home. Abandoned and abused animals are cared for by Alchemy Acres and all animals in need are welcome. From domesticated animals like cats and dogs, to farm animals and exotic pets (such as lizards, snakes and birds), Alchemy Acres is a safe place for animals of all kind.
Finally, Pencils of Promise strongly believes in ensuring that every child has an education. Donations go towards the building of schools and creation of various programs to increase literacy rates and other skills in underdeveloped nations.
Math teacher and organizer of the event, Kasie Burroughs, provides information about how Coin Wars works and the role that Aurora For Others plays.
“Coin wars are an annual fundraiser for AHS. After Thanksgiving, we place a container for each grade level in the main office. Each class gets a running total of money they have raised. Coins in the container count towards the class total. Any paper money placed in the containers counts against the total. At the end of two weeks, the class with the highest total wins.”
This year, Seniors had the highest total and Juniors came close. Notable of the donations are the classes of World History and Theory of Knowledge teacher, Pam King. $2100 came from the donations of her students and when asked about how such an incredible amount was raised, King stated:
“I simply copied Mrs. Simmerman's model. I promised my classes that whichever class period brought in the most money would get a class party on 12/14. My 11th/12/th Grade class Theory of Knowledge (TOK) won with a whopping $603.41 brought in. My 8th period 9th Grade World History class came in 2nd with over $500. Every day we would count the money they brought in and then take it down to the office for the main collection.”
Burroughs explains a challenge of Coin Wars:
“One of the challenges to coin wars is getting the message out that we are actually holding it. Many students don't listen to the announcements or read the signs around the school. The more people we can get involved, the better the outcomes.”
While getting the attention of the community may be difficult, the results of what has been accomplished so far is amazing. As King said:
“I know this is a busy time of year and some people are feeling overwhelmed, but I highly recommend holding a competition like this to help bring attention to the Coin Wars. It is totally worth it!”
The ways that Aurora High School has raised money for those in need highlights the generous nature of people in Aurora. If you are a student who missed the opportunity to participate in Coin Wars, there are plenty of ways to give to charity.
“In addition to Coin Wars,” says Burroughs. “NHS donates money through fall fundraisers such as the Powderpuff football game, parents night out ( a babysitting even we hold at the high school for kids in grades Pre K-5) and a male teacher bake sale.”
Getting involved and making a change in the world is easier than students may think. Aurora High School is always looking for ways to give to charity which can be as simple as one coin at a time.
