PVIS Students Give To Children's Miracle Network
Pequea Valley Intermediate School (PVIS) Student Council representative Megan Wenger learned a valuable lesson during her first year of helping to raise funds for Children's Miracle Network. Wenger said that the group began organizing the fundraiser, including writing speeches and making posters, two weeks before the effort began in October 2021. "It takes everybody to help others," recalled Wenger. "It took everybody (working together) to get things done. You can't do things by yourself."
The students organized a penny war among homerooms to raise $229. In addition, a Pequea Valley School District (PVSD) dress-down day raised another $216-plus, for a combined total of more than $445. PVIS Student Council officers and committee chairs traveled to Harrisburg on Nov. 4, 2021, to present a check to Pay for Play XV, a fundraiser for Children's Miracle Network by 105.7 The X.
Children's Miracle Network supports children's hospitals across North America with a goal of helping to provide care for children who are not fully covered by Medicaid and other insurance programs. Since the 1980s, the organization has raised about $7 billion to help save and improve the lives of as many children as possible.
According to Wenger, the penny wars idea was discussed by Student Council members, who decided homerooms could earn points by bringing in pennies. Pennies represented positive points and silver coins and dollars were negative, so they subtracted points. "Each homeroom had a bin," explained Wenger, who noted that as each homeroom collected pennies, other homerooms could sabotage their point totals by adding silver coins or dollars to the bin. Miss Sexton's homeroom claimed the prize when a member brought in $25 in rolled pennies. The students were awarded a breakfast of juice, cereal bars, and muffins.
According to Student Council adviser Alicia Trescavage, similar fundraisers for Children's Miracle Network have been held each fall at PVIS for six years. She said that the fundraiser was originally inspired by a student who was benefiting from Children's Miracle Network at the time. Since then, PVIS has lost students who benefited from the network to childhood diseases.
"We talk about kids helping kids," explained Trescavage. "You don't know when it could be your family (afflicted by a children's disease)." Trescavage explained that funds collected by PVIS will be directed to Penn State Children's Hospital, where PVIS students have received services.
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