Penny Wars Add Up at Little Silver School

They filled up plastic milk jugs, Zipoc bags and Solo cups and in the end, Point Road School students collected almost $4,000 in change to buy instruments for a Union Beach school to replace equipment damaged during Hurricane Sandy.

The Penny Wars were held in conjunction with an instrument drive and candy cane fundraiser at Markham Place that netted almost $500 and seven instruments, including a harp, two flutes and a drum set.

"In no way did we think Point Road would ever collect that much money," said Little Silver PTO Co-President Phyllis Sauer. The organization helped organize the fundraisers and is footing the bill for a pizza party for the class that brought in the most money at Point Road (Mrs. Ince's second graders).

A candy cane sale was held at Markham's holiday concert that raised additional money for the effort and was supported by music teacher Stephanie Bennett who also had students make a banner to promote the sale.

Some Little Silver families donated instruments that were added to an effort being run by Red Bank Regional to replace lost and damaged instruments for Union Beach students.

Sauer credited parent Julie Traynor with spearheading the effort to help Union Beach students. "She got it in her head and she was persistent," Sauer said.

Traynor told Patch that she originally approached the district's two music teachers about a Union Beach fundraiser and the idea quickly snowballed with the help of the PTO and the support of district administrators to pull it off before the holiday break.

"The goal wasn't the money as much as getting the kids involved in directly supporting Union Beach district," Traynor said.

"I can't believe this little idea turned into such a significant donation for Union Beach," she added.