Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Stonewall, Battlefield compete in St. Jude's drive
One thought from Madeleine Boudreau helped unite a high school.One thought from a high school senior eventually pitted rival schools against each other for a good cause.
One thought from a Haymarket girl in the late fall of 2007 led to the collection of thousands of dollars for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
When Boudreau puts her ideas into to action, the results became tangible.
“Ultimately, you can't really lose,” Boudreau said last Friday.
Students and faculty at Battlefield and Stonewall Jackson took part in a competition last week to raise money for charity.
The layout for the competition was simple: Anyone at either school could buy a ribbon to benefit St. Jude's and whichever school raised the most money would get a trophy.
Then, the school that didn't win would have to adorn its front wall with the rival school's banner for a week.
Stonewall Jackson ultimately tallied $1,100.95 compared to Battlefield's $1,025.46.
Juniors Sara Carroll and John Miller of Stonewall unrolled a poster in the shape of a check last Friday night during the lull between the girls and boys basketball games at Battlefield.
On the poster was the dollar figure.
Boudreau held a more solid replica check tinged with a purple border, displaying Battlefield's $75.49 deficit.
Despite the loss, that money came to be after months of planning.
Late last fall, she came up with the idea to host a fundraising competition with another school.
Her leadership class met with other school representatives at Hylton High School in Woodbridge to talk about ideas for raising money.
After a while, she met with Stonewall Jackson teachers to discuss how Battlefield and Stonewall could work together for charity.
The Stonewall faculty recommended St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as a recipient for the cash. Once DDE_LINK1Boudreau DDE_LINK1 worked the phones, she had St. Jude's support.
“We're sending [the money] directly to the hospital for them to spend however they please, I guess,” said the Battlefield senior.
Because Battlefield has been around for only four years, there are relatively few traditions at the school.
Raising money in a race against rival Stonewall turned out to be a new tradition the students could get behind.
Boudreau bought black, purple and white satin ribbons for her classmates while Stonewall students purchased ribbons of gold and maroon.
Then, word-of-mouth began.
“We didn't tell anyone until, like, a week before because we didn't want the idea to die off,” she said with a laugh, adding, “[We have] attention spans like fruit flies!”
A whisper campaign of sorts ensued, with students asking, “Did you hear Stonewall's going to put a huge banner on the school?” she said.
The winning school was to be awarded a trophy adorned with a military general and a bobcat but the prize didn't interest the Battlefield community as much as the idea of simply beating Stonewall Jackson, according to Boudreau.
One student Boudreau approached handed her a $20 bill and said, “I don't want to see Stonewall win!” she reported.
And as with many word-of-mouth campaigns, facts become distorted.
One misconception floating around the halls was that the winning school would hang its banner on its rival school for a full year.
Boudreau said her best friend would come up to her and just say with a laugh, “Guess what I heard today?”
Even though Stonewall took the first round and Boudreau will graduate before Round 2, she said she is excited to think about how the challenge will evolve over the years.
“It's going to be a standing tradition,” she said with confidence.
You must be logged in to post a comment.