Members of spartan 2 Spartan helping raise money for the penny wars.
The Spartan 2 Spartan Club helped raise money in honor of Autism Acceptance Month by hosting a school-wide penny war.
A penny war is a fun and competitive fundraiser where staff, sophomores, juniors, and seniors compete to collect the most pennies in their team’s jar, while using other coins—like nickels, dimes, and quarters—to reduce the totals in other teams’ jars.Autism Awareness Penny War 2024 (3) (3)
This year, the juniors took the win! A total of $160.82 was raised and will be donated to the Kelberman Center.
Dr. Kelberman, the founder of the center, established its mission “to lead autism support and services through all stages of life,” as stated on the Kelberman Center website.https://www.kelberman.org/
When Dr. Kelberman’s son, Harry, was diagnosed with autism at two years old, he and his wife, Jennifer, were “introduced to an unfamiliar world, with a suddenly uncertain future and no clear path forward,” and struggled to find “sophisticated diagnostic, behavioral, or educational resources locally.” Their story inspired him to open an autism center in Utica to serve as a center of excellence for autism.
“My wife and I have always loved and believed in our talented community. So actually, the decision was an easy one; we would take our resources and energy and create a state-of-the-art autism organization right here. At that point, we provided a leadership gift to raise the startup funds for an autism center in our community. And not just any autism center, but one that addressed the needs of children from infancy all the way through adult life, as well as their families.”https://www.kelberman.org/about/our-story/
The Spartan 2 Spartan Club meets twice a month in collaboration with the BOCES classroom to create opportunities to build friendships through games, collaborative projects, and shared lunches.
The goal of the club is to create an inclusive environment where all students feel valued, connected, and supported through positive peer interactions.
Members paid high respect to the club and say it’s the best way to make sure everyone feels comfortable and welcomed at school.
Junior Addison DelMedico has been a part of this club since 8th grade.
“I really enjoy being a part of the Spartan 2 Spartan club because it makes everyone feel included. It’s a great way to meet new people, help others, and be part of a caring community.”
The final Spartan 2 Spartan meeting took place on Thursday, May 8, where the upcoming field trip to The Wild zoo in Syracuse was announced. Students are excited and looking forward to this!