Thanks to a creative idea, several willing participants and a supportive community, the Whitesboro Middle School (WMS) Student Council raised $713 for Sleep in Heavenly Peace with a Change War – Kiss-a-Pig Challenge earlier this month.
Every year, the WMS Student Council “adopts” a local non-profit and works to benefit them in some way. They’ve held a water drive for the Whitesboro Fire Department and first responders, and last year they partnered with Your Neighbor’s House and held a cereal drive, donating 192 boxes to the food pantry.
This year, the kids chose to adopt Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a non-profit organization that builds and delivers beds to children who don’t have furniture to sleep on. The beds are built by volunteers and assembled at the recipients’ houses, complete with pillows and bedding.
Knowing who they wanted to support, the Student Council next had to decide how to raise money for the organization.
With Valentine’s Day approaching, the group came up with the idea of a Kiss-a-Pig Challenge. They asked for teacher/administrator volunteers who would be willing to kiss a pig and came up with 16 participants: Shannon Scoggins (Principal), Jesus Sosa (Assistant Principal), Marcy Stock (8th grade English), Heather Holle (6th and 8th grade math), Laci Dobbs (SPED), Breana Hendry (library media specialist), Donna Amos (counselor), Joey Lindenborn (6th grade social studies), Kim Merlyn (careers inv.), Christie Hudman (6th grade English), Kelly Tierney (7th grade science), Paetyn Bardwell (inclusion aide), Janet Ledbetter (7th grade math), Megan Brown (6th grade science), Barbara Townsend (7th grade reading) and Hannah Ferguson (art).
Each participant had a jar set up on the school stage, and from Jan. 31 through Feb. 7, students were encouraged to donate spare change into the jar of the person they wanted to see kiss a pig. The individual with the most money in their jar at the end of the challenge would have to pucker up.
“We had teachers (playfully) trash talking to get kids to vote for other teachers or administrators,” Ferguson said. “We had two teachers on the list who were actually scared of pigs, so they were really talking the kids up on the other teachers. Students were also going around trying to convince other students to vote for this teacher or that teacher. It was the talk of the school that week!”
On Feb. 10, the top five participants were announced (Lindenborn, Amos, Townsend, Scoggins and Sosa). On Tuesday, the top three were announced and on Wednesday, during an assembly, it was announced that Lindenborn and Amos tied for first place (each had more than $171 in their jar). They both kissed a pig in front of the student body during the assembly.
With the total money raised from this challenge, the WMS Student Council was able to purchase 26 bed-in-a-bag sets and pillows to donate to Sleep in Heavenly Peace for children in need.
“We’re grateful for a supportive community and the 16 dedicated volunteers who were willing to participate in this fun and meaningful event,” Ferguson said.
