The Highland High School Future Business Leaders of America is raising money to send five students to the National Junior Achievement (JA) Stock Market Challenge in Atlanta, Georgia.

The five students are split into two teams, with William Dunbar and Brody Miller making up the first, while Will Boileau, Alan Nass, and Austin Rodriguez make up the second. They qualified by taking first and third place at a regional competition hosted by St. Ambrose University last October.

The fundraiser, dubbed “Penny Wars,” will pit classes against each other as they compete for a chance to pie staff members in the face. Students can add money to their class tally by contributing pennies, cash or checks. They can also subtract from other classes. School Counselor and FBLA Co-Sponsor Peg Schwab came up with the idea and says that her experiences working with students gave her the idea, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned working with young people, it’s that they like competition and being competitive. If there’s another thing I’ve learned about working with young people, it’s that sometimes you want to get your just desert on the adults.”

Schwab went on to say that she hopes the buckets will serve as a visual representation of the progress made on the fundraiser and as a reminder to the students of who the fundraiser is for: their fellow classmates.

Community members wishing to donate should make checks payable to Highland FBLA and to support a particular class or individual, that should be included in the subject line.

Businesses wishing to sponsor the trip, for which Schwab says they would appear on the back of the t-shirts the group wears to Atlanta, should contact her at pschwab@highlandhuskies.org.

To hear more about the competition, the trip and the fundraiser, tune into Friday’s In Touch With Southeast Iowa Program.