Bolivar Primary School students showed that even a small change can make a big difference during their recent "Share the Fair" Penny War Fundraiser. Held in conjunction with this month’s Scholastic BOGO Book Fair, the fundraiser encouraged kindergarten through second-grade students to bring in spare change to help build up classroom libraries—and have a little fun in the process.
The original goal was to raise $750, which would double in value at the Buy One Get One Free Fair, allowing teachers to purchase $1,500 worth of books for their classroom shelves. But the students far surpassed expectations, raising an impressive $1,275.14 in just seven days.
To keep things exciting, Assistant Principal Mr. Ash, PE teacher Coach Gregory, and Behavior Interventionist Mr. Ridder agreed to be the targets of the Penny War. Students cast positive votes with pennies and dollar bills to nominate staff for a pie in the face, while silver coins counted as negative votes.
Not only did the students raise enough to see all three staff members pied, but they unlocked additional pie targets as they hit fundraising milestones. When donations hit $1,000, librarian Mrs. Clawson joined the pie lineup. Upon surpassing $1,250, Principal Dr. Tennison and school counselors Mrs. Simpson and Ms. Baker also stepped up for a face full of whipped cream.
The highly anticipated pieing event took place on the last day of school, May 22, bringing laughter and cheers from students and staff alike. One student, Shani, summed up the excitement after delivering a pie to Mr. Matthew Ridder, exclaiming, “This was the best day ever!”
Bolivar Primary’s creative and collaborative fundraising spirit proves that when students and staff work (and laugh) together, great things happen—one penny at a time.