On Jan. 13 the Key Club at MacDuffie started running a Pennies for Patients fundraiser, established by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The organization will receive the money MacDuffie raises to be used for the research and treatment of cancer patients.

The Key Club is the community service organization that is supervised by Residential Advisor Matthew Castle, with Senior Ava Marion as president. One of the responsibilities that Marion has is to determine fundraisers that the club runs; most recently she decided on Pennies for Patients. 

The fundraiser is designed so that all students can get involved by bringing in their spare change. As an incentive for students to participate and donate their money, a point system was implemented. Students are able to increase the points for their own grade, as well as reduce the points for other classes.

“You bring in pennies or dollar bills to gain points for your own class,” Castle said. He also said that students can provide silver coins such as nickels, dimes, and quarters to deduct points from other grades. There are several jars that are placed in the main entrance of the building which represent the money/points for each grade. Students can place their money into the jar corresponding with their grade (faculty also have a jar to use). The grade that has the most points will receive a prize that is currently undisclosed.

The proceeds will be sent to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with the goal of helping patients recover from leukemia, lymphoma, and other cancers. Castle hopes that the Pennies for Patients fundraiser will help raise awareness of these diseases. He also hopes that students can be committed to the cause and realize that they can benefit patients in small ways.

As of January 23, the fundraiser has raised $55 in total. The juniors are currently ahead in terms of points, although the middle schoolers are very close to their score, Marion said. She added that although the main fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society is the Pennies for Patients fundraiser, people can still get involved and help those affected because the organization takes donations through their online service.