$1,900 raised for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

ROME TOWNSHIP — The Fairland Middle School Beta Club sponsored a Teacher Challenge Assembly on Friday, as part of a fundraising challenge for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

According to teacher Glenn Dillon, students were challenged to raise $1,500 as a school building. If the students hit that mark, the teachers agreed to perform challenges for the student body.

Each student was given a box and informed that if each student returned with $3.75 after a month of collecting change the school would reach their mark of $1,500. The boxes were due back by Feb. 14. At the end of the fundraiser, the students had returned $1,900.

Dillon said some of the challenges included teachers dressed as clowns, nerds, pirates, teachers handcuffing themselves to a chair for the day, a teacher rode a tricycle all day, teachers ate chocolate covered bugs, teachers played egg roulette in front of the student body, a teacher allowed a student to brush his teeth with charcoal toothpaste, a teacher shaved half of his beard in front of the student body and principal Aaron Lewis allowed students to spray him with silly string.

“This was my first year doing this fundraiser as the new Beta Club Sponsor at Fairland Middle School,” Dillon said. “I knew it was a lofty goal, but I knew that the students would get excited about an assembly such as this one. I also know that we have a lot of people that have battled or lost loved ones by cancer and donating to find a cure was important to them. I am already excited about next year and challenging the students to top what we achieved this year.”