Penny Wars is a unique concept for a great cause. The annual competition for copper is a battle between each grade to see who can collect the most money. The catch is that the only donations that count positively are those in pennies. Each grade gets a bucket during lunch and anyone who is willing to contribute to the cause can put money into any of the jars. The competition started April 11 and concluded on the 15.

The rules for the competition are fairly simple: Only pennies in your own class jar count positively, while every other value not in the form of pennies will count negatively. So if you have 100 pennies in your jar as well as a dollar bill your total will be zero, and yes, it is a possibility for your class to go negative (as is often the case). Each class aspires to have the most pennies in their jar by the end of the week, but when one class sees another pulling ahead, they can place any type of paper or silver money besides pennies in their choice of jar to negatively affect another class’ winnings.     

Each year the Grand Council decides which charity the donations will go to. Last year HBHS donated all of the proceeds to local food banks. Student Council likes to change up which charity the money is donated to, in order to  “spread the love” as they say. This year, our Student Council has decided to forward all of the proceeds towards the Pan Mass Challenge.

The Pan Mass Challenge is an organization that raises money for cancer research and treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The organization was first created in 1980, and has become an annual bike-a-thon that passes through the commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its overall goal is to obtain maximum fundraisings so that one day they will be able to provide Dana-Farber doctors and researchers with the resources they need to find the cure for all cancers.

So, if you wish to throw in a few loose pennies into your own grade’s bucket, or a couple of dollars into another’s, today is the last chance to do so.