For all Marian girls, the month of September is about finding a balance between heaps of homework and a social life, figuring out how much coffee and sleep are really needed to

function, and of course, collecting money for Walk-A-Thon.
The race for first place tends to sweep students up into another reality where the only things on their minds are green sheets of paper and Wednesday intercom announcements in homeroom.

What then, are all the other Catholic schools doing to help their community as each grade level at Marian is busy walking door-to-door, giving grandma a ring, or driving through Raising Canes?

Paul Martin, a junior at Creighton Preparatory School says that Prep’s Penny Wars is the biggest student-led fundraiser. All of the proceeds, which are collected in February during Prep’s Mission Week, are given to charity. “We’ve had people bring in boxes full of $50 worth of pennies before,” Martin said. “Most people bring in their own money or ask their family for donations. In the end, whichever House brings in the most money has the best chance of winning the House Cup.”

Martin explained that the Houses, assigned to students their freshman year, consist of all different grade levels of students who work together in hope of claiming the House Cup by the school year’s end. “While it’s still fun to compete, I wouldn’t be incredibly upset if I never won it.”

Simon Robertson, a freshman at Roncalli Catholic High School says his school doesn’t have any major fundraisers that he is aware of. “Even though we don’t have any big things we do

to collect money, we still have to volunteer. I think that helps the school just as much as giving money to it does.”

This past summer, for example, Robertson helped out at Roncalli’s firework stand and knocked six hours off the twenty community service hours freshmen are expected to complete by the end of the school year. “It saved the school money because they didn’t have to pay anyone to help, and it gave me the chance to meet new people and help out my school.”