Unlike Canada, the United States still uses pennies, and even though those dingy brown discs may seem useless, now is their time to shine.

Beaver Area High School’s penny war is a popular way for a class to raise money for dances, prom, or class t-shirt. This year the sophomore class, sponsored by Latin teacher Ms. Victoria Abbondanza, organized the penny wars.

“We are currently fundraising for the sophomore class so in the future we can host the nice prom that our class deserves,” shared sophomore class president Abby Noah.

Simply enough, the penny wars fundraiser asks students in grades 9-12 to bring in their pennies in an attempt to help their class collect the most money. Whichever class collects the most money is victorious.

However, you can donate more than just pennies . . . just be sure to put other denominations into a different class container. It’s called sabotaging: nickels, dimes, quarters, and bills can be placed in other class containers to subtract from their total.

So even if a class loses, they still helped a worthy cause win.

This year more was up for grabs though. Instead of only the fundraising, the school decided to add a little twist. Since CHK is a year long event this year, CHK points were at stake for this penny wars; the class that raised the most money would add points to their score from the holiday season.

The penny wars lasted from February 22–26 this year. Here are the results . . .

Congratulations to the sophomore for raising over $100 and coming in first place. The junior class came in second place, the freshmen came in third, while the seniors landed in last place (perhaps because they’re at home on Zoom and not in the building?).

Keep listening for more news on upcoming ways or earn CHK points for your class and for other opportunities to support student funds and activities.

Take that, Canada.