SHEBOYGAN — Wisconsin and Australia are nearly 10,000 miles apart. However, that doesn’t mean the students from Grant Elementary in Sheboygan don’t feel connected to the land down under.
"Because there's wildfires and to save the animals because kangaroos koalas are being injured by the wildfires," 4th grader at Grant Elementary, Noelan Bonner, said.
His school is in an a serious battle. Each class is fighting to raise the most money to help Australian efforts stop the devastating fires that are still burning in the country. Their fundraising campaign is called a penny war.
These elementary school students are doing everything they can to save the animals hurt by the #AustralianBushfires. @SASDschools pic.twitter.com/asePhidBCr
— James Groh (@JamesGroh_) January 16, 2020
Since Tuesday, students have been filling up jugs with more coins than the teachers ever expected. The winning class gets a pizza party.
However, all this speaks to something greater than a pizza party.
"Because if you help them one day they might help us back when were in a certain danger," Bonner said.
It's not about the distance between two places, but it's the shared connection that unites us. When one country hurts, we all hurt. The students at Sheboygan Elementary recognize this and are doing everything they can to help out.
Penny by penny.
