February 25, 1998
Penny ante
Wager lands school staff atop the roof
By Garret Leiva
Herald staff writer
It didn't take pennies to read the thoughts of Willow Hill Elementary students as they stepped off the school bus Friday morning in slack-jaw amazement and broad-smile realization. After all, it isn't every day they find their principal standing on the roof of the cafeteria.
But it was just that, pennies, 200 pounds to be exact, that sent principal Jame McCall and several school staff members skyward.
As part of the annual "Penney's For Kids" campaign, sponsored by J. C. Penney Co. Inc. and United Way of Northwest Michigan, students at each Traverse City public school fill a 5-gallon jug with pennies. The coins replenish the Children's Dental Care Fund, which pays dental bills for children who are not Medicaid eligible and whose families cannot afford dental care.
Right from the start, Willow Hill students dug deep into their pockets and piggy banks. In two days they had the school's jug overflowing, Principal McCall said.
Part of the payoff for their philanthropy was that several school staff members would climb atop the 12-foot roof, a payoff which seemed even richer Friday given the falling snow flakes. "I think (the students) are even more excited because the weather isn't that great," said McCall, as she donned her winter coat.
As further reward, staff members also are planning to make good on promises of a Bermuda-shorts and T-shirts "Beach Day," and a day devoted to eating ice cream.
Meanwhile, students hardly have slowed their efforts - a second jug is already one-third full.
While students have chipped in for fund-raisers before, school secretary Mary Gillison was surprised by the plethora of pennies that have poured in so far.
"The students have been so excited and thrilled by seeing the jug fill up with pennies," said Gillison, who with other staff members on Friday danced the hokeypokey on the rooftop. "The sixth-graders even make an announcement each morning to remind everyone to bring in their pennies."
Many of the students have taken the announcements as a personal challenge. One first-grader, Gillison noted, brought the money he saves for special occasions. He deposited $20 worth of pennies into the school's jug.
Students also have been motivated by a chance to win a cash prize from J. C. Penney Co. Inc. along with a pizza party from Pizza Hut and Pepsi-Cola as a reward for being among the top four elementary schools competing in the "Penney's for Kids" campaign.
For third-graders Robby Gotshall and Chanze Albaugh, however, extra cheese and double pepperoni couldn't compare to their principal dancing on the roof. "That was pretty cool," they both said.