Pennies for Patients by Rachel Leigh

Pennies for Patients

Teaching Compassion, Building Character, Saving Lives...

...One Penny at a Time.

Overview & Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Frequently Asked Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Prizes & Incentives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Checklist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Words of Wisdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Top Ten Teacher Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Creative Campaign Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–8 Honored Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Morning Announcements. . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Lesson Plans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11–12 Coin Counting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13–14 Where Does the Money Go?. . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Program Supplies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Table of Contents • Pennies for Patients

Welcome to Pennies for Patients 2008–2009! Thank you so much for registering your school to participate in this year’s campaign. Your role as coordinator is an important one. This coordinator guide will help answer some frequently asked questions, offer hints and advice for a successful campaign and suggest ways to incorporate Pennies for Patients into your curriculum to motivate your students to make a difference in the lives of blood cancer patients. Please plan to take a few minutes before the start of your campaign to review the information in this guide. Thank you again for your participation and good luck with your Pennies campaign!

Marissa Gee Campaign Director

Overview & Calendar January

MON

TUE

WED

THU

Happy New Year

FRI

During the 2007–2008 school year, students from 23,000 schools nationwide teamed up to make a difference. Kids in grades K–12 raised $19 million to help fund lifesaving cancer research and local patients services. By collecting and donating coins, students raised awareness and funds in honor of local student survivors.

Jan. 6–23 all over the state. See Dec. newsletter for 19

MLK Jr. Day

dates and locations. 27

MON

Pennies for Patients 2009 runs for any three weeks of your choosing, suggested dates are February 2–20. Your donation must be received by April 15 to qualify for some prizes. We thank you and your school for making a difference!

February TUE

WED

THU

April

Sat: Valentine’s Day

20 Suggested End Date

In the week following your campaign end date, have all remaining coins counted and converted to check(s) to “The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society” or “LLS.” Mail check(s), CoinStar receipts and Wrap-up form to the Indiana Chapter.

FRI

Suggested Start Date 9

Students participating in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Pennies for Patients program are making “change,” one penny at a time. Since 1994, Pennies for Patients has given millions of students the opportunity to experience the powerful feeling that comes from working together to improve the lives of others — kids helping kids is what makes the program so unique. In fact, since its inception, students have raised over $100 million dollars nationally to support the LLS’s mission.

Planning Meetings will take place 12

Making “Change,” One Penny at a Time

4/15 All Funds due date* 4/24 Photo Contest due date

*Note: All donations must be received by April 15 to qualify for top prizes. If your check will not be processed by this date, please report your total by April 1 to S&Y Staff at (800) 846-7764, ext. 211 or schoolandyouth_ini@lls.org.

May

Gary Brackett school visit Top schools prizes awarded

2009 Coordinator’s Guide • 1

Prizes & Incentives It’s a great feeling to know that you and your students are making a difference. To celebrate your great success, the LLS will reward students and schools in the following ways:

Pizza Party

Gift Certificates

Schools raising over $500 will receive a pizza party. Qualifying schools will get to reward the top fundraising classroom with one party valued up to $50.

Each school that raises over $1000 is eligible for a gift certificate from Wal-Mart, Amazon. com, or Staples, or the value of the gift certificate can be donated back to the LLS. The more money you raise, the more you can win! So set your goal high!

Gary Brackett Visits* Indianapolis Colts linebacker and local Pennies for Patients Spokesperson, Gary Brackett, will visit two of the topfundraising schools in the state — the top overall fundraiser and the top per-capita fundraiser. To show his appreciation for a job well done, Mr. Brackett will speak to the top-fundraising classroom, answer questions, and sign autographs. These visits occur between April 15th and the end of the school year.

Amount Raised

$1,000 – $1,499. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,500 – $1,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,000 – $2,499. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,500 – $2,599. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000 – $3,499. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,500 – $3,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,000 or more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Top School. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other Prizes Recognition Plaques* Plaques will be awarded to the top five overall fundraising schools and the top five per-capita fundraising schools.

Prize Raffle* Schools submitting pictures to the Photo Contest

and their donation and Wrap-up Form by April 15 will be eligible to win gift certificates and other cool prizes.

Elmer’s Bag Vivendi Games Autographed Posters *Donations must be received by April 15, 2009 to qualify for some prizes

3 • Pennies for Patients

Certificate Value $100 $150 $200 $250 $300 $350 $400 $500

Checklist Get Organized

Collect & Count Coins

Review your Coordinator Guide.

Check with your local bank before bringing in your coins.

Check out our Web site at www.schoolandyouth. org/in. Great campaign materials and information can be found in the Coordinator’s Corner.

Set periodic collection dates throughout the campaign.

Select the Dates for your Pennies for Patients campaign and submit them to S&Y staff. Form a Pennies for Patients committee with faculty and student leaders and plan meeting dates. Set fundraising and participation goals.

Educate Your School Get faculty and staff on board. Send parent/guardian letters home. Include a program announcement in your school newsletter. Make daily announcements with blood cancer facts and Honored Hero Information (examples can be found on page 9). Have students write letters or draw pictures to give to the 2009 Honored Heroes.

Have teachers total their classroom’s coins or have students do it as a math lesson. Have your donations converted to a check(s) made payable to LLS and mail to us with your Wrap-up Form by April 15, 2009.

Celebrate Your Success! Recognize the top fundraising classroom, as well as all students and staff who participated. Organize a check presentation assembly. Contact the S&Y staff to schedule. Send a press release detailing your success to local media. Reward your top fundraising classroom with their pizza party. Send us your Pennies for Patients photos so your school can be recognized in the May Penny Times and entered in a prize drawing.

Motivate Your School Photocopy the Top Ten List (see page 5) and distribute to teachers. Hold a Kickoff Assembly. Contact S&Y staff to schedule. Display promotional posters. Try a new creative campaign idea (see pages 6–7). Announce classroom totals and goals daily.

2009 Coordinator’s Guide • 4

e v i t a Cre Campaign Ideas 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

8 9

Make Leukemia Disappear Place the word “leukemia” on the marquee outside your school. Each time you collect 1/8 of your goal, remove a letter. Ask parents and students to help make leukemia disappear.

Pennies for Pages Students collect pledges for how many pages they can read during PFP.

Bucket Shake Contact a local store (like Wal-Mart) and ask a manager if students can set up a collection stand outside. Ask customers for donations as they enter.

Spirit Days Designate an entire week or each Friday for students to come to school dressed unconventionally. Charge $1 per day to wear a hat, pajamas, slippers, non-uniforms or sports apparel.

Matching Gifts Many companies will match a donation made to a non-profit organization. Encourage parents to get their donation to the LLS matched by their employer.

Paper Pennies Use the paper pennies to create a penny wall. Sell the icons for $1 or $5. The donor gets to write his/her name on the penny and post in on the wall.

Plus-Minus Penny Wars A twist on the classic penny war: pennies have a positive value, and silver change is negative. For example, one classroom collects $20 in pennies, but students from another class deposit $15 in silver change into their box. Their total is $5.

Battle of the Sexes Put out a girl and boy buckets. Whoever collects the most wins bragging rights. (Also works well with grade levels).

Decorate your Classroom Door or Canister Have each classroom decorate their door or canister for PFP. Ask a local business to judge the competition and donate prizes for the winners.

7 • Pennies for Patients

Coin Days Designate certain days for specific coins. For example: Monday is Penny Day, Tuesday is Nickel Day, Wednesday is Dime Day, Thursday is Quarter Day, and Friday is Dollar Day.

Classroom Competition Foster competition between classrooms. Monitor daily totals and make announcements. Make a poster with teachers’ names and post it in a prominent place or use the coin-mometer included with your supplies.

Business Boost Contact local businesses about getting involved. Ask the manager to put out a collecting box, host an employee dress-down day during your campaign or donate an incentive if your students meet a goal.

Stuck for a Buck Students pay $1 for a yard of duck tape they can use to tape the principal or teacher to a wall. This works well during lunch time. Tip: sell “Stuck for a Buck” tickets beforehand to students.

School Competition Have a competition with another school in your area — your school’s rival is perfect. You can calculate the per-student total to keep it fair.

Rock for a Cause Have your high school organize a rock concert (or other event) where the proceeds go to PFP.

Try a New Hair Style Motivate your students by volunteering to shave your head or dye your hair if your school reaches its fundraising goal. Hold a celebration or check presentation assembly where students/staff get to be the hairdresser. You’d be pleasantly surprised at how motivational this can be!

School Thermometer Be sure to set a goal for the entire school and post a thermometer chart in a high-traffic place. If you reach your goal in the first week, wet a higher one for week two. Consider that if each students asks 4 relatives for $1, you can raise $4 per student. Take advantage of the power of numbers and stress that to students. It’s easier than it seems to raise $1,000 or $2,000.

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Pie Throwing Contest Reward the top classrooms with the opportunity (or sell chances) to throw a pie at a teacher or administrator. Good fun for a good cause!

Community Donations Promote the program in the school and the community. Send a press release to local media (see Web site) to get coverage of the event. Encourage local businesses to match class or weekly totals.

Pennies Weigh In Instead of tabulating classroom totals before you get to the bank, have weekly classroom weigh ins to determine the winner.

29 30 31

Chores for Charity Challenge students to offer services to family, friends and neighbors, like shoveling snow, cleaning house or babysitting, for donations to PFP.

Teacher Sundae Chocolate syrup, whipped cream and cherries. Students in the top class select the teacher to sundae or the teacher in last place gets this sticky honor.

Online Fundraising Request a personalized donation Web site where parents/staff can donate to your school’s campaign online using a credit card. Contact S&Y Staff for more info.

In-School Incentives Create an incentive program, with rewards like longer recess or uniform exemptions for meeting weekly goals.

Bake Sale Hold a snack or bake sale during PFP. Ask parents to donate items or have your school’s Home Ec. Classes cook for a cure.

Teachers Spirit Days Staff love to pay to wear jeans, get out of recess or lunch room duty, etc.

Lyrical Lunch Students contribute $5 to listen to their iPod/MP3 player during lunch.

Adopt an Honored Hero Print off Honored Hero bios and letters from www.schoolandyouth.org/in/hero. Have classrooms read about, raise funds in honor of and write notes to their adopted hero.

Holiday Theme Sell heart candy or carnations for Valentine’s Day or a green treat for St. Patrick’s Day.

Principal Prize Make your school principal the prize! Have him/her kiss a pig or move their office to the roof for a day if your school reaches its goal. Be creative!

Kickoff Assembly Hold an all-school assembly to kick off PFP. Have student leaders announce your school goal and how your campaign is going to work. Talk about the importance of helping kids like the Honored Heroes and encourage students to bring in spare change. Contact S&Y Staff for more info.

2009 Coordinator’s Guide • 8

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Indiana Chapter 941 East 86th Street, Suite 100 Indianapolis, IN 46240 E-mail Phone Toll Free Fax

School & Youth Programs SchoolandYouth_INI@lls.org (317) 726-2270, ext. 211 (800) 846-7764 (317) 726-2280