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1-29-16 — Pennies for Shoes Donations Surpass Expectations
Jan. 29, 2016 ~ About 1,500 local children in need will receive a new pair of shoes thanks to the generous donations of students and staff in the Pennies for Shoes campaign. Large plastic collection jugs in each district building gradually filled up with coins and paper money on the way to a $30,000 total before Semester Break. Pennies for Shoes is part of the Olathe Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund.
The 2015 total is $9,588.66 more than the 2014 campaign which raised $20,438.84.
Several buildings dramatically improved their donation totals over last year. In all, 31 buildings were able to increase their donations.
- Millbrooke Elementary School collected $2,138.97 more than the previous year
- Ravenwood Elementary collected $1,928.06 more
- Arbor Creek Elementary collected $1,347.50 more
- Olathe North High School collected $1,019.90 more
- Prairie Trail Middle School collected $920.41 more
- Heatherstone Elementary collected $912.65 more
- Education Center collected $801.31 more
A variety of events and activities were held across the district to raise awareness of the Pennies for Shoes campaign.
In the Education Center, Assistant Superintendent of General Administration Erin Dugan and Director of Athletics and Activities Tim Brady were team captains of two groups of employees that tried to raise the most donations. Fundraising activities included donating $2 for the privilege of wearing any type of shoes you wanted for an entire week, contributing a set amount of money to have your family's photo included in a staff meeting presentation, and donating $20 to be included in a drawing for University of Kansas basketball tickets. In addition, both captains agreed at the start of the campaign that the captain of the losing team would make a $100 contribution to the effort.
"Each year support for this campaign exceeds our expectations," Dugan said. "The $30,000 total is amazing and speaks loudly and clearly of the heart our students have to help others."
Ravenwood's Penny Wars, presented by the fifth-grade Tiger Service Club, collected $2,211.37 in just four days. Each classroom had a collection jar and donations were given point values. Pennies and paper money counted as positive points (one point per cent). All other denominations counted as negative points (one point per cent). The objective was to put pennies and paper dollars in your class' container and other donations in someone else's class container. Students in the classroom with the most points earned the right to pick an all-school spirit day in January. The three classes with the highest point totals received cupcakes. The three classes with the lowest points received bite-sized cupcakes.