How can you make a difference?

By donating a dollar, of course.

Student Senate is directing a campaign known as “A Dollar Makes a Difference” (ADMAD).

“A Dollar Makes a Difference is a project we are really excited about,” senior Katherine DeVoursney said. “It is an easy and innovative way to help out our community.”

Here’s how it works: students simply donate $1 during their third-hour classes. The money is then given to International Aid, which is on the President’s USA Freedom Corps list of places to donate to. The ADMAD money goes to “emergency relief.”

“We chose International Aid out of Spring Lake because it is a tangible option,” senior Debra Warren said. “Having used them in the past with KICK, we knew they would be a good organization to work with.”

The next collection days for ADMAD will be Dec. 14 and 15.

The campaign, which will be running from October to May, is directed specifically toward students because only $1 is needed to participate.

“I’m really excited about the concept of students rallying for a cause,” assistant principal Jen Bustard said. “With continued advertising, I am confident that the program will take off.”

The overall goal is to collect $1,400 per month for the duration of the fundraiser.

“Student Senate is really proud of what we have accomplished,” DeVoursney said, “but we know that we can do better and hope that with more publicity, more people will participate.”

October, the first month of ADMAD, resulted in more than $300 in donations. November yielded about $390.

“That means only about a quarter of the school is donating, and even though we raised more money in November than October, it’s not enough,” senior Scott Heethuis said.

To heighten participation, Student Senate has added an incentive. Students will receive one raffle ticket to be placed in a drawing each month. The winner will receive a small prize of local business coupons and other fun goodies. At Please see DOLLAR, page 3

the end of the year, all of the previous tickets will be entered into a grand prize drawing.

“We wanted to do something to motivate the students to donate each month,” Warren said. “The prizes that we’re giving away aren’t worth a lot, they’re fun little things that make the project more exciting. Students also have to keep in mind that they’re donating a dollar to make a difference and save lives, not necessarily to win.”

Beyond the individual incentive, the class that collects the most money by the end of the year will receive a pizza party for their efforts.

Once the funds from ADMAD are collected, they will be given to International Aid to help finance numerous initiatives ranging from Befriend-A-Village, which is a program dedicated to bettering living conditions in villages, to Lab-in-A Suitcase, which is used to diagnose diseases in rural settings.

“There are so many people in the world with nothing,” DeVoursney said. “Kids like us can easily help them if we all come together for the common good.”