Students at Southwest Junior HIgh School raised ,554.52 for area charities during the 2008 Penny War.

Every year, the seventh-grade students at Southwest Junior High School look forward to the Penny War.

It is an enjoyable and amusing game where three teams – this year’s names were the Anacondas, Spider Monkeys and Geckos – try to raise the most money in one week.

The rules of the game are pretty simple. There is a jar for each team. Students put change into the jars. If you put a penny in your own team’s jar, it will add one point for your team. If you add silver change to another team’s jar, it will subtract points from the other team.

Cody Flitcraft said he loved to play and donated $10 in silver change to take down the other teams.

Students also look forward to celebrating their fundraising efforts with “pod” parties at the end of the week when they announce the winner. The parties also raise money for charities through sales of items such as baked goods and pizzas.

This year’s Penny War winner was the Spider Monkeys, who raised $173.41 in pennies and $388.70 in silver coins. The team had the lowest deficit at the end of the week.

While Emma Kelly, a member of the Anaconda team, didn’t win, she is excited about the money raised. It will benefit the Lawrence Humane Society, where Emma volunteers and to the Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen.

Students raised a total of $2,554.52 for the charities and presented them with checks on Friday.