![Adding a tray of canned corn to the pile, junior Michael Collop assists in transporting donations for the Holiday Food Drive. The event, hosted schoolwide from Dec. 10-17, raised over 5,000 food items to deliver to the Parkway Food Pantry, helping several families in need. [The drive] is a great thing for us to do because you're giving to those who are less fortunate, and it helps provide for people who can't provide for themselves. [The] competition is always fun, too. It was fun to be in [social studies teacher Jess] Chazen’s class, because he always gets worked up over [the competition]. He made it exciting, and was always convincing us to turn in cans for the drive,” Collop said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/feature-photo-unsung-2.png)
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
The Southern Lehigh School District administration is planning to make changes to the high school’s fundraising procedures in the near future because of their concern with the security of cash donations to school clubs. Though there is no official timeline, the administration is aiming to put these changes into effect with the start of the 2024-2025 school year. As of now, they aim to end canning entirely to make way for wireless donations, overlooking the potential consequences of such a drastic step.
“Canning” is the fundraising tactic used by many clubs to solicit cash donations in metal cans in exchange for prizes such as stickers or baked goods. Most student organizations are reliant on canning, and collect the majority of their donations from peers as small change easily handed off as physical money. MiniTHON, especially, relies on canning for most of their revenue, sending students to seek donations at Southern Lehigh sporting events and restaurants like the Coopersburg Diner.
MiniTHON faculty advisor Mrs. Courtney Bathgate feels that these changes will disrupt her students’ ability to raise money for club operations.
“Canning is what many clubs are known for, so this changes things drastically,” Mrs. Bathgate says. “I just think it’s becoming more difficult to do things. I never saw an issue with canning.”
These changes also become a socioeconomic issue when you consider that not all students or community members have access to personal credit or debit accounts. This cashless policy would exclude these individuals, and thereby minimize the amount of donations that clubs can collect. Additionally, some parents may not allow their children to use online banking accounts such as Venmo or PayPal. Relying solely on online transactions as opposed to cash transactions limits the pool of donors that clubs have access to.
Even beyond lack of access to these digital transaction services, most students and community members lack the time to navigate using them. The administration’s current plan is to suggest that those fundraising carry QR codes with links to secure donation sites. The process of connecting said sites to a digital wallet, if the donor even has one, is cumbersome compared to simply putting a dollar in a can. Also, people are generally more willing to part with tangible small change rather than going through the process of plugging in information for wireless transactions. This is especially true for teenage students, who are typically asked to donate during the school day and may not have the opportunity to pull out a cell phone.
Granted, there are certain benefits to providing digital donation opportunities. SLSD superintendent Dr. Michael Mahon suggests that some donors would appreciate having their charitable transactions recorded online for tax breaks and peace of mind, knowing that their funds have reached the desired non-profit.
“It’s done in a way that people can feel confident… as opposed to this idea of cash being just kind of carried around. Again, I want to be very clear, I am not accusing [students]; we have the greatest kids, and they are honorable,” Dr. Mahon says. “It’s our job to develop internal controls, to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to be maximally successful.”
Although the administration is not implementing these changes with the intention to reprimand students, students cannot help but feel untrusted. Students take great pride in the organizations they volunteer for and feel they are mature enough to handle donations. Allowing students this responsibility communicates that they are expected by the school district to be honest and accountable. By giving students privileges, they are more willing to embody these expectations. Until there are clear circumstances where canning is an issue, students should be given the benefit of the doubt.
“I never saw kids skimming off the top, I never saw kids being dishonest when they brought back their cans,” Mrs. Bathgate says. “This is everybody volunteering their time to fundraise money for childhood cancer and cancer research, so I just feel like we’re creating a problem that doesn’t exist.”
Online fundraising does not have to replace cash donations and canning altogether. Although administration currently looks to ban cash donations in the future, the best decision for Southern Lehigh clubs is to embrace both forms of fundraising. Simply offering wireless donation in addition to continued canning would allow the community to benefit from both methods.
By prompting Southern Lehigh clubs to offer both cash and online donations, Southern Lehigh School District can help their students improve revenue and inclusivity. New additions to fundraising such as QR codes and cash-transfer apps should not come at the expense of clubs’ current operations.
This story was originally published on The Spotlight on January 29, 2024.