Bryant Elementary’s Ninth Annual Valentine’s Fundraiser Poised To Be A Huge Success

Students, faculty and parents at Mary Bryant Elementary are excited over the prospect of breaking their Valentine’s Day fundraising quota.

Since Monday, they have been selling Friendship Grams – Silly Bandz attached to a Valentine’s message – for $0.25 each and the school is well on their way to surpassing their goal of 5,000 sales.

 “We set up three or four tables each morning from 7:30-8:00am and students are definitely buying at least a dollar’s worth,” said 11-year-old Edward Gowski.

 If you haven't purchased your Friendship Grams, there's still time. These special Valentines will be on sale Thursday from 7:30-8:00am for just $0.25 each and will distributed on Valentine's Day Monday.

Brandon Yusuf, 11, was an eye witness to one student buying at least 20 Friendship Grams, “including a few for herself," he said.

According to 10-year-old Student Body President Samantha Vazquez, selling is the best part of the whole project.

“It’s actually a lot of fun and the work isn’t too hard,” Vazquez said.

After eight years, the Student Council opted to eliminate candy from the Friendship Grams.  They'll miss the sweet treats, but 18 out of 20 students voted in favor of the various-shaped whimsical rubber bracelets, many of which were donated by the Walgreens located directly across the street from the school.

“You can buy pencils and erasers anywhere, but not these Silly Bandz,” Edward said.

Diane Russell, whose youngest child Zachary is a fifth grader at the school, calls the process of sorting, cutting, and taping the Friendship Grams,  “organized chaos."

“It’s all about the students and this initiative encourages them to express themselves through positive caring feelings while also supporting their writing skills," Russell said.

Students are encouraged to write a personalized message with each Friendship Gram they purchase. In past years, the funds raised have been invested in something that the school needs like a magnolia tree, benches, and a trophy case, Russell said.

 In addition to being fun, these bracelets also have a significant educational value. The Silly Bandz will be used for special activities such as graphing, sorting and measuring, said Guidance Counselor Deborah Hamilton.