Everyone can join the fight against poverty

There are countless ways to support St Jude’s mission of fighting poverty through education. While most supporters choose to donate, sponsor a scholarship, spread the word, or organize a fundraiser, here are a few that got particularly creative.

Students at Culver Academies in the United States found a way to leverage competitions among themselves to raise funds for St Jude’s.

“As a boarding school, we have smaller communities within the school called dorms and barracks,” explains Alexandria, a student at Culver Academies. “Naturally, there is plenty of competition between students from different dorms. So, we developed a system in which a dorm can earn an extra point when one of its members donates a penny to a good cause. We call this Penny Wars,” she explains.

Alexandria is also one of the leaders of a student-run organization called the Leadership Committee for Africa (LCA). The LCA organizes different fundraising programs to support charities that promote health, welfare, education, and advancement of women and children. They currently support three organizations in Africa and St Jude’s is one of them.

“Being a student-led program, we organize our own fundraising programs and activities to financially support our partner organizations,” explains Alexandria. “In addition to Penny Wars, we also fund our mission by conducting community fundraisers and occasionally selling treats such as popcorn and candy for charity at social and sports events,” she adds.

On another occasion, seven-year-old Serena came up with the brilliant idea of giving out free lemonade on a popular bicycle path in her neighborhood. With help from her father, she raised $111 in one day!  All proceeds were donated to St Jude’s!