Pennies are positive. All silver coins are negative.<\/p>\n
Those are the rules of the Penny War now raging at Sunrise Elementary School in Kent.<\/p>\n
Since May 5, students have come to school heavily laden with change, excitedly adding pennies to their own classroom\u2019s Penny War buckets and \u201cbombing\u201d other classrooms\u2019 buckets with nickels, dimes and quarters. Cries of \u201cAttack!\u201d could be heard Friday morning at the school as the change accumulated past the standing total of $2,092, the students battling for an ice-cream party but also benefitting breast-cancer research in the process.<\/p>\n
One little girl with carrot-red hair, 6-year-old Lauren Simpson, dumped a particularly large bag of pennies into her classroom\u2019s bucket, knowing full well the importance of the coin battle. It was set up in memory of another battle her late mother began fighting less than four years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn July 2004, six weeks after our second child was born, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer,\u201d said Gene Simpson, 38, Lauren\u2019s father. \u201cShe fought with it for 17 months and finally lost in November 2005.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tana Simpson was 37 years old when she died from the disease, leaving her husband, a 4-year-old Lauren and an 18-month-old son, Tyler, behind. Gene said it was a tragic time for the family, but out of the tragedy has come inspiration to honor the memory of his wife as well as his seven-year, cancer-survivor mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cMuch of the time since her passing has been focused on my kids as we worked to re-define our lives and get through the challenge without their mom,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cLast year, I felt like it was time to do something, to just remember her in the right way and do something to help others.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has shown his passion to help by becoming an regular participant in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation\u2019s Breast Cancer 3-Day, a 60-mile walk to benefit the fight against the disease. It was during last year\u2019s walk that he first learned about a unique way to get kids involved in the cause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI talked to some teachers that were involved in the walk, and they had done this Penny War thing and had a lot of success with it,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cSo I approached (Sunrise Principal Lynn Hancock) with the idea this year, and she loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each teacher was equipped with a bucket \u2014 23 in total \u2014 and flyers were sent home with the students explaining the fundraiser and its cause. Simpson said he hoped it would be a hit, but he couldn\u2019t have anticipated the level of response. On Friday, after only four days of the Penny War, the total of $2,092 was continuing to rise as the buckets filled up with change. The competition will end May 16.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d he said. \u201cI was just floored, but I think it\u2019s indicative of the cause. Breast cancer touches so many people. It\u2019s tragic how many lives have been touched by it, but out of that tragedy comes tremendous support.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said it\u2019s become a large task to collect all the change from the school and drive it to First Savings Bank in Renton, the only bank he found willing to lend its coin counter to the cause. It took half a day to count the change from just the first two days of the competition.<\/p>\n
The money will go a long way toward completing the fundraising commitment Simpson\u2019s team made for this year\u2019s Breast Cancer 3-Day walk, which takes place Sept. 12-14 in Seattle. Called the \u201cBreastie Boys\u201d \u2014 a word play on the hip-hop group Beastie Boys \u2014 the team is composed of five men who have committed to raising $2,200 each for the cause.<\/p>\n
Simpson said he walks not only for his wife and mother, but also for Lauren. He said her risk of developing the disease later in life is statistically much higher considering her family history.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mantra when I walk is that I walk in support of my mom, in memory of my wife and in hope for my daughter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The bereaved husband and hopeful father will continue to support the cause, he said, and he plans to organize a repeat Penny War next year as long as the school is willing to host it. Based on the enthusiasm of the Sunrise students and administration, it seems he won\u2019t have a problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just so great,\u201d Hancock said. \u201cThe kids are having so much fun with it. You see these little kids carrying buckets of change down the hall, and they\u2019re so heavy, sometimes it takes two of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
To learn how to donate to Simpson\u2019s team, visit www.the3day.org.<\/p>\n
Contact Daniel Mooney at 253-437-6012 or dmooney@reporternewspapers.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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