See a penny pick it up and all day long you’ll have good luck. People have heard this phrase since they were old enough to walk, yet so many people still walk right by that penny and leave it for the next person to walk along. Now, thanks to the co-ed fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, people have a much more effective way to spend their spare change.
Alpha Phi Omega has been working with a new charity “Penny Wars” with the Make a Wish Foundation. The idea for Penny Wars was originated by Alpha Phi Omega member and treasurer Christina Chan, who chose this as her community service project.
“We’ve been looking for a bigger project to bring to the attention of the university, and this seemed like it would be a lot of fun while also raising money for a great cause,” said the fraternity’s public relations representative, Melissa Arkin.
Essentially, Penny Wars is a competition between the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior classes. “This fundraiser is designed to be fun for the whole student body,” Arkin said. All pennies must go into the jar of your class, but if you have other loose change you want to donate, it goes into the jar of the other classes. A penny will earn your class one point, and all other money is valued at its respective currency. For example a nickel is -5 points and a dollar is -100 points. Depending on who is donating what, the score of the game is constantly changing.
All of the proceeds from Penny Wars will go to the Make a Wish Foundation. The donations from Make a Wish go to children between the ages of two-and-a-half to 18 years old.
“Make a Wish is a group that works to make wishes come true for children with life threatening medical conditions. Wishes range from anything such as meeting their hero, going on a cruise or even getting an elephant,” Arkin said.
Alpha Phi Omega member Olivia Thayer said, “This foundation goes all out when they grant a wish, it is really amazing. One of my friends missed her prom so they gave her one. It was better than either of mine for school.”
“The wishes are to give them hope, strength and joy,” Chan added.
Alpha Phi Omega is accepting donations for Penny Wars all week long at the tables in the Student Center from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. All forms of money are encouraged. Students should be aware of which bin they put their change/cash in. Students can donate as little or as much as they wish.
This fundraiser was started a few weeks ago and will be continuing throughout the semester. Alpha Phi Omega has currently raised $83.60 and is hoping to collect a lot more. In the future, APO is hoping to hold the fundraiser for an entire month.
“By raising money for this organization, we are hoping to help make more dreams come true,” Arkin said.
