Richland High School recently participated in the Penny Wars where the school raised over $300 for a local family in need. Richland has been participating in the Penny Wars for several years, where the students bring in rolls of pennies to count as positive points. The fundraiser gets more competitive when the different grade levels begin dumping dollars and silver coins into each other’s buckets, causing them to lose positive points and gain negative points.
This fundraiser is more than just a fun way to raise money, it is also a way for students and faculty to reach out and help a local family in need. Until this morning, no one actually knew who the money would be going to this year, so when the Condicts were told that they were the receiving family and the total amount of money that the students raised was announced, all of the students knew that their hard work had paid off.
Jordan Condict, a junior at Richland, was shocked to find out that her family had been chosen to receive the money. “I was trying to figure out who they were going to award the money to,” Condict explained. “But I definitely didn’t think that it would’ve been us, I was so surprised! We are very thankful.”
The Condict family has been caught in a whirlwind of events throughout the past couple of months where not only one, but two of their family members were diagnosed with two very different types of cancer. Mark Condict was recently diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and is being treated at Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Tulsa, Oklahoma and his father, Doyle Condict, was diagnosed with Small Intestinal Cancer and is being treated at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
The family has been very hands-on with this experience, including making ‘Team Condict’ t-shirts and sweatshirts that raise awareness for both types of cancers that they have in their family. All profits that were made during the fundraiser were donated to the Ben Kruse 18 Fore Life Foundation, an organization that offers financial aid to families fighting against cancer.
This Penny Wars is not the first time that the Condicts have been recognized by the community. Their oldest daughter, Jordan, played volleyball for the high school and they honored her and her family at the Hits for Hope game in October to raise awareness for Breast Cancer. The family was completely taken by surprise, just like they were with the Penny Wars results, when they were given flowers, the game ball, and inspiration from their friends and community in a chance to let them know that they are not facing this part of life all on their own.
Richland and its students were honored to give the money that they raised to such a great group of people. Although many tears were shed and there were many battles won, there is still a long road ahead for both of the fighters and their family. Richland is proud to support the Condicts and will walk with them as they head down an ever-changing road to recovery.
