By Rebecca Rider 

rebecca.rider@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Students at Hurley Elementary School proved that penny-pinching isn’t always a bad thing.

Staff and students have raised more than $4,000 to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

“We as a school thought it would be a great idea,” said Sohanna Breeden, assistant principal.

Breeden said she participated in a fundraiser to benefit the society a few years ago in another school district. This year, she decided to dust the idea off and presented it to the principal, then the students.

“From there, they ran with the campaign,” she said.

The fundraiser, dubbed “Pennies for Pasta,” began in mid-March and ran through Monday. The class that raised the most money was promised a pasta dinner at Olive Garden, courtesy of the society. 

“That’s the way of saying thank you, for them,” Breeden said of the meal.

During the first week, a representative from the society visited Hurley Elementary to explain the fundraiser — and leukemia — to students. Breeden said the representative put on a skit to help students understand the disease, and teachers followed up in class. It helped students understand that the money would go toward helping someone.

“This money was raised actually for them to find a cure,” she said.

Within a week, students raised $1,000 — half of the school’s $2,000 goal. Breeden said students brought in coins and pennies, but many brought in more, courtesy of their parents.

“The kids wanted their parents to get involved, too,” she said.

Informational posters were put up in the office, and the school sent home brochures and links to the society’s website.

During the second week, the school ran a friendly competition with the announcement of the pasta dinner. That week, Breeden said, $1,800 poured in.

“So we were just shocked,” she said.

By the end of the three-week fundraiser, staff, students and parents from Hurley brought in over $4,000.

“The kids were shocked that we actually raised that,” Breeden said.

Throughout the campaign, students had not kept track of the total, she said. “They were just bringing daily.”

The winning class was announced Monday morning — John Galloway’s fourth grade class. It raised a total of $815.

“You could hear the winning class screaming all the way down the hall,” Breeden said.

Hurley is already looking at the logistics of doing a similar fundraiser next year. Breeden said she believes projects like it help students learn how to be selfless and that “it’s OK to help.”

“It’s not about us, it’s about them. It’s about helping someone else,” she said.

Contact reporter Rebecca Rider at 704-797-4264.