'Coins for Koalas' draws hefty donations at Palatine school

Third-graders at Virginia Lake Elementary School in Palatine surpassed their fundraising goal to help animals affected by the recent wildfires in Australia.

Dubbed “Coins for Koalas,” the students set a goal of collecting $100 to donate to the World Wildlife Fund for saving the injured Australian animals. It turned out the kids were much more prolific in their fundraising than expected, taking in about $1,800 in donations, officials at the Palatine Township Elementary District 15 school said.

The effort came about in part because this year's third-grade music program happened to be “Australia ABCs.” The students have been learning songs, games and dances native to Australia.

Virginia Lake music teacher Beth Burger asked the children if they'd like to raise money for the wildlife assistance, which resulted in jars for dollars and coins and a goal of $20 in each of five classrooms.

“I always want to try and have some sort of connection for the kids, so when the wildfires happened it was the perfect reason to collect money for the World Wildlife Fund,” Burger said.