By: Haley Eckman

     This winter at Eisenhower, advisories raised money for Free Books for Kids Town, which is a fundraiser facilitated through the Kiwanis club by Ruby Wiles. The fundraiser was held from January 18 to 31.

     The fundraiser will go towards purchasing books for younger children who may not have the opportunity to have their own books. The idea behind letting kids pick out their own books is so that they have the opportunity to read something they are interested in. The home-based advisories collected coins in a competition for a party. The teachers will also be receiving a $20 gift card to the location of their choosing.    

     The Squire interviewed Abe Wolf, a member of Key Club, who started the collection at Eisenhower. According to Wolf, the winning advisory received pizza provided by the Nutrition Group in the cafeteria of our school. Wolf described the point system saying, “Every coin is worth the same value of one point. They don’t have their monetary values. Dollars are worth five points, and they also don’t carry their monetary value.” This system is based on the number of coins there are and not their actual monetary value. The reasoning behind this system, rather than one based on the actual value, is, “…because it will make it easier to keep track of.” The coins were collected in green boxes placed in each advisory classroom.

     On the last day of the competition, it was a sabotage day where students could put bills instead of coins in the boxes. The dollars negated five points from the coins that they had previously collected. The competition ended on January 31, which was a Monday.

     Wolf expected a good turnout for the competition saying, “I’m hopeful that we can get around $200-$300, and I believe that we have reached that goal.” Abe predicated that the winner would be Mrs. Rouse, and he was correct. Mrs. Rouse ended with 2,246 points, which was almost ten times as much as the second-place winner.

     Mrs. Walters donated books, as well as coins, to the cause, which is much appreciated by the club. The children who receive the books purchased and donated to Free Books for Kids Town, will benefit immensely.