Pennies for Autism

Glenn Westlake Middle School students received recognition from the Illinois Association of Junior High Student Councils for raising money for the Autism Society of Illinois. In their letter of recognition, the association said, “As we Travel the World of Leadership this year, your council has truly made it

your mission to help give hope, possibilities, and options to those with Autism and their families. “

Glenn Westlake's student council, known as the Wildcat Council, organized the effort by collecting empty milk jugs from staff and students as a way to collect “Pennies for Autism.” They nicknamed the jugs “Pots-o'-Gold.” The campaign ran for 3 days and netted $857.56. The sixth grade donated the most.

In addition to the penny donations, some of the other methods the students used to reach this amount included one student ‘s mom matching her son's donation of $5 and a homeroom teacher matching her class's collection amount. There were also individual rainbow puzzle pieces students could purchase for $1 at lunchtime. The pieces were first used to build a rainbow decoration on the cafeteria windows and later entered into a raffle. At the conclusion of sales, two raffle winners at each grade level received Shamrock Shakes from the student council.