The month of February at Walt Whitman High School is dedicated to raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). The SGA puts together a schedule of activities and fundraisers everyone in the school can participate in, such as dine-outs, a 5k, and a seven-hour dance marathon.
SGA President Jorge Richardson explains that “LLS Month started years ago when the SGA wanted to start taking Pennies for Patients very seriously.” As a result, “our goal every year is to simply beat last year’s fundraising efforts.”
Last year, Whitman raised about $91,000 to fight cancer. So far this year Whitman has raised $14,000 from the Red Rush 5k and $27,000 from bRave. The Red Rush 5k is an event where, for $35, students and families can register to walk or run a 5k, with the proceeds going to the LLS Foundation. bRave is a mock “rave” with over 900 participants who get dressed up in neon colors and tutus to dance for seven hours straight. This is by far the most successful of Whitman’s fundraisers.
One Whitman freshman stated, “I was expecting bRave to be like homecoming, where the dance sucked… but it was actually fun to see all my friends and just not care what other people think.”
Besides the school-wide fundraisers, teachers hold their own in-class donations. Teachers give prizes to whichever class raises the most money, creating a friendly competition for an amazing cause. There is also a fundraiser called “Battle of the Beards” where teachers and students grow out beards, with the best beard-growers receiving donations from other students.
The overall month of February is full of amusing fundraisers that the majority of the student body participates in. With a fundraising extension until March 19, the SGA is hopeful that the Whitman community will raise more than $91,000 to fight cancer.
Article by Sophia Knappertz, MoCo Student staff writer