Penny Wars for Haiti

In light of the recent devastation in Haiti, our AGS family has come up with a fun way for the students to work together to send aid to those who are suffering.

A Penny War is a fundraiser, much like the one we did for Heifer International last month. Like before, the object of the game is for each classroom to get as many points as possible. However, there is a twist in how points will be added and subtracted. In this game, pennies count as “positives” towards each room’s total score, while nickels, dimes, quarters and paper currency are subtracted. The classroom with the highest score at the end of the war will win a brownie party!

The money raised during Penny Wars will be donated to the American Red Cross, which is helping coordinate the global response to this devastating crisis. We are hoping to present the money to a Red Cross volunteer during a school-wide assembly later this month.

To participate, here’s what you need to know:
1. Penny Wars will run from Wednesday, January 20 through Wednesday, January 27.
2. Each class will be given a container to collect their donations.
3. Each container will be labeled with the name of the class teacher and placed where it is easily accessible – probably right outside their classroom door.
4. Students will put their pennies in their own class container. One point is received for every penny collected.
5. Students may put other coins and paper currency into the containers of OTHER classes. Each silver coin or bill reduces the number of points from that container by the amount of the coin. (For example, a nickel reduces the points by five, a dime by ten, a dollar by 100, etc...) This is where strategy counts - have fun “sinking” other classroom totals by loading them up with silver!
6. The containers will be emptied and counted at the end of each school day, and the totals for each class will be posted.
7. Leaders will be announced during morning announcements. (Pay attention to who’s in the lead, so you know where to “spend” your big bills!)
8. Have fun! This is a great way to reach out to those in need, while enjoying a little friendly competition…