Like several other clubs before it, Oxfam, despite a “penny war” going on in Uncommons, has been unable to reach its desired goals. “I don’t feel like the penny war was that successful, mainly because of all the other things that were going on last week,” said Sarah Pucillo ’08, head of the Andover Oxfam chapter, referring to Advanced Placement exams and the first week of Senior Spooning. This Oxfam penny war, which began last Tuesday and ended last Friday, was its first in several years. “The penny war is just something extra we’re doing this term to raise more awareness and money for Oxfam,” said Pucillo about the organization’s week-long fundraiser. Each grade and the faculty each had a separate jug. Every cent donated in coins earned each “team” one point, and paper money donations counted for negative points. Since Oxfam’s only big campaign this term will be the hunger banquet they will host later this month, the members of Oxfam felt that they wanted to hold some type of other fundraiser. Jen Downing ’08, an active member of Oxfam, felt that in general, many people ignored the fundraiser, but tended to pay more attention when asked to support a specific cause. “Asking ‘Donate to Oxfam!’ was less effective than mentioning the victims of the cyclone that hit Myanmar, and the fact that Oxfam is involved in disaster relief,” said Downing. All of the funds earned will be donated to the Oxfam International organization. Oxfam International is a collaboration of 13 organizations world-wide dedicated to helping solve global issues, especially poverty and sustainability. The Phillips Academy chapter of Oxfam is focused on what used to be the sole purpose of Oxfam International when it was first founded: finding a solution to world hunger and famine. Because the penny war was a comparatively small fundraiser, all of the money will be sent to Oxfam International. In the past however, Andover Oxfam has chosen to donate the money raised from larger school-wide fundraisers to specific projects designed to help decrease world hunger. The proceeds from the widely popular Oxfam Auction this past fall went to a program called Oxfam Unwrapped rather than to Oxfam International. This allowed the Phillips Academy Oxfam members to choose exactly where they wanted to donate the money that they raised through the auction.
