During the week of November 17th through November 21st, all West Bloomfield High School (WBHS) fifth-hour classes participated in a competition to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The objective was for students to bring in all their spare change and the class that raised the most amount of money won a pasta lunch provided by Olive Garden. The winners were Mrs. Liza Zanotti’s fifth hour human biology class, who raised almost $400. Their pasta lunch was on Tuesday, November 25th, 2014.

This fundraiser was initiated by seniors, Emma Huez, Jasmine Morigney, and Jesse Jeppesen as a part of their community service project for marketing and DECA. Although the Pasta for Pennies fundraiser is not new to the district (Orchard Lake Middle School participated in the same fundraiser last year and plan to do so again later this year), it is new to WBHS and has raised a lot of money and awareness for the cause. In total, the school raised about $1300.

As of 2014, Leukemia and Lymphoma affects over 300,000 people in the U.S. Olive Garden works with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to bring awareness to middle and high school students and all their contributions go to leukemia and lymphoma research. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. “We decided to work with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society because blood cancer is a major issue amongst children and we want to raise awareness about the seriousness of it and get more kids to help, hence the “Kids Helping Kids” motto,” said senior Emma Huez.