King of Cash: First-grader collects 10,000 dimes and change for local food bank
Katherine Mansfield
Zander Maurin celebrates his title, 鈥淜ing of Cash,鈥� with Jefferson-Morgan junior Kaileigh Coneybeer, whose One Dime at a Dime campaign to raise money for Corner Cupboard was successful, in large part, due to Zander鈥檚 fundraising efforts.
Courtesy of Jodi Fulks
Zander Maurin presents his fundraising efforts 鈥� $1,141 that he desperately wanted to bring into school all in dimes 鈥� to his teachers at Jefferson-Morgan elementary. Maurin鈥檚 efforts to collect dimes for One Dime at a Time earned his class a pizza party and him, the title 鈥淜ing of Cash.鈥�
Zander Maurin is known as both the Duke of Dimes and the King of Cash, and his fundraising efforts, combined with that of his classmates, earned Tammi Byers鈥� class a pizza party for donating the most money to One Dime at a Time. (Photo courtesy of Jodi Fulks)
Katherine Mansfield
Junior Kaileigh Coneybeer, left, initiated the One Dime at a Time campaign to raise money for the Corner Cupboard Food Bank. With the help of the school 鈥� and Zander Maurin - Coneybeer and her marketing internship classmate Wyatt Wilson were able to give about $7,000 to the CCFB. (Photo by Katherine Mansfield)
Katherine Mansfield
Katherine Mansfield
Zander Maurin raised $1,141 for One Dime at a Time, a fundraising effort spearheaded by Kaileigh Coneybeer, left. Coneybeer initiated the campaign as part of her marketing internship class, taught by Jodi Fulks.
news@greenecountymessenger.com
Zander Maurin could have bought a pool.
That鈥檚 what the bright-eyed first-grader told his teacher, Tammi Byers, as he lugged a $1,141 donation for One Dime at a Time into Jefferson-Morgan Elementary School.
鈥淲hen I saw him walk in with the amount, I was so surprised and so thrilled. I said, 鈥榋ander, I can鈥檛 believe you did this.鈥� He said, 鈥榊eah, you know, I could have bought a pool with this,鈥� laughed Byers, who teaches K-1. 鈥淚 said, 鈥榊es, but doesn鈥檛 it feel great what you鈥檙e doing, how many families you鈥檙e helping?鈥� And he was just so proud.鈥�
Proud, too, is Zander鈥檚 mother, Ashley, who assisted the youngster鈥檚 fundraising efforts for One Dime at a Time, a campaign spearheaded by junior Kaileigh Coneybeer and her marketing internship classmate Wyatt Wilson.
Ashley and Zander crafted donation boxes for the first-grader鈥檚 father and two grandmothers 鈥� both beauticians 鈥� to collect dimes in at work. Word of Maurin鈥檚 fundraising efforts spread, and a family member returned from an out-of-town trip with dimes in lieu of souvenirs.
鈥淓verybody loves Zander. Zander鈥檚 a special little boy in our family. Everybody was very helpful,鈥� said Ashley Maurin, noting it was Zander who placed telephone calls and approached folks for donations.
鈥淗e did tell people about it,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e helped me count everything, and he helped me organize and when we got a total, I was speechless.鈥�
Out of all the participants, Zander singlehandedly raised the most money for One Dime at a Time, earning him the title, 鈥淒uke of Dimes.鈥� His efforts, combined with that of his classmates, earned Byers鈥� students a pizza party.
鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 a title called 鈥楰ing of Cash,'鈥� said Jodi Fulks, who teaches the marketing internship course. 鈥淲e kind of made that because he was such a good collector.鈥�
The students at Jefferson-Morgan are, together, good collectors: Through her initiative, Coneybeer was able to donate roughly $7,000 to the Corner Cupboard Food Bank, to put toward the purchase of a refrigerated truck.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time we鈥檝e ever done something like this. We thought 鈥� we鈥檒l be happy with $1,000. It definitely exceeded our expectations,鈥� said Fulks. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to promote Pathways and internships because that鈥檚 a wonderful experience for high school students.鈥�
This school year marks the first time Jefferson-Morgan has offered a marketing internship course through Pathways, a program that allows students to explore career options and gain real-world experience before stepping on a college campus or into the work world.
鈥淭he push now is not necessarily college. It鈥檚 the careers, too,鈥� said principal Wes Loring. 鈥淲e still want to put that focus on college readiness, but at the same time, career readiness. We always say, bringing the big-school opportunities to the small school students. I want to be able to provide them with as many experiences as they can get and to try to help them be a step up on others kids when they leave school.鈥�
One Dime at a Time afforded Coneybeer the opportunity to hone her presentation skills 鈥� she kicked off the campaign with an elementary school assembly and visited every classroom, sparking excitement for the fundraiser by passing out lollipops and water bottles (鈥淲e got some bottles back with water and dimes in it,鈥� Byers said).
She also sharpened her marketing skills and made connections within the community by soliciting donations from local businesses. Local businesses, Coneybeer said, accounted for nearly $2,000 in donations to the local food bank.
鈥淚 kind of went into it not expecting to raise much, just gaining experience, but it turned out to be a lot better than that,鈥� said Coneybeer, who serves on student council. 鈥淚 definitely didn鈥檛 expect it to take off this big.鈥�
And that success, which can be attributed to Coneybeer鈥檚 organizational and leadership abilities, wouldn鈥檛 shine as brightly as a newly minted dime without Maurin鈥檚 savvy fundraising skills.
The King of Cash wears his title 鈥� and plush, royal purple crown 鈥� proudly. His magnificent monetary donation to One Dime at a Time is in character, said Byers, noting Zander is a kind, thoughtful and hardworking student who is always ready to assist his peers.
Ashley Maurin is so proud of her King of Cash she rewarded his efforts with that swimming pool his heart was set on. While Zander makes a different kind of splash this summer, Loring is still swimming with pride for his students.
鈥淲e鈥檙e definitely proud of 鈥� all their efforts, the time and the hard work by the King of Cash himself and the other students,鈥� Loring said. 鈥淛efferson-Morgan, we may be small, but you know, when it comes to coming together to support causes like this one, I wouldn鈥檛 pick a better school district.鈥�