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MINERAL RIDGE -- Elementary school students and staff are using their pennies to fund cancer research.
Seaborn Elementary School is partnering with the American Cancer Society Niles Relay For Life in a school-wide penny collection.
Jim Aleshire, Niles Relay For Life sponsorship and recruitment chair, developed a "fun but serious" contest, with help from Principal T.J. Koniowsky, for students to raise money for ACS.
Since November, collection buckets were placed in 21 homerooms throughout the building, with the hope students would get involved and donate.
Whether it's copper, silver or green, both Koniowsky and Aleshire said the money will go directly to ACS on behalf of the Niles Relay For Life.
As incentive, Aleshire promised the winning classroom a pizza party in the school cafeteria, Relay T-shirts and an invitation to the local event to walk a lap with the teams and cancer survivors.
Aleshire said the first-place classroom will be celebrated and recognized for its contributions to the cause.
Students are invited to donate every day, with the collection buckets counted each month. As of February, the school has collected more than $600. Koniowsky said the overall goal is $1,500, but he said Aleshire would be happy with $600.
Though Aleshire has no real goal in mind, he said he's moved by the students' enthusiasm. Some classrooms have started a rivalry to see which room can donate the most. Koniowsky said there are a few third-grade rooms that have been neck-in-neck, but he thinks towards the end of the drive, students will donate more to close the gap and jump the total.
Aleshire has four grandchildren who attend Seaborn, and he said the cousins are excited to compete for donations.
"The kids get their families involved, so the parents started to dig in drawers and add dimes, quarters into the mix," Aleshire said.
Koniowsky said he's seen first-hand how the contest has affected students, not only as the principal of the school but as a father of two students. He said his own kids came home excited to get involved in the process.
While Koniowsky said the school can't force the students to get involved or even participate at the relay, it's encouraged.
"I can tell you, on my end, this is a chance for the kids to fundraise for a cause … not just drop pennies in a bucket," Koniowsky said. "I've seen a sense of giving and stewardship to one another."
He added that some students have been or will be affected by cancer, whether it's a family friend or relative. Aleshire's grandson, second-grader Ryan Aleshire, 8, said that's one of the reasons he's donated "a lot."
"It's special to me because we're raising money for people," he said.
Jim Aleshire is a survivor. He battled Stage III malignant melanoma on his back, which, he said, was a "catalyst to put me here." He lost two brothers to cancer, and, he said, these students may be the ones to find a cure.
"We take pride in our young people because they are our future," Aleshire said. "This is the generation that's going to preach this on. This cancer thing is going to go away …"
He said the local relay had a banner designed for the winning students to hold while lapping the center.
The penny collection ends the second week of April, and the Niles Relay For Life is 6 p.m. April 28 to 2 p.m. April 29 at the Niles wellness center in Waddell Park with the theme "The Movement to End Cancer."
The Niles Relay For Life set its final committee and team meeting for 6 to 7 p.m. April 5 at the wellness center, 213 Sharkey Drive. Interested participants and teams are welcome to attend.
Teams may pick up registration materials and fundraising information at relayforlife.org/nilesoh.
For more information, contact Aleshire at 330-540-2295.