Panting. Sun beaming. Is there even any oxygen out here? Sweat. Numb Legs. We continue running. We finally made it to the school. Olivia Wiedower and I, my partner in Conway Volleyball’s annual coin drive, arrived at Ida Burns.

The coin run is a race in which the Conway Volleyball team sprints around with buckets after school asking people in the parking lot to donate to our year’s Pink Night recipient. The team was placed into several teams to compete against one another. The race had three simple rules; don’t coerce people, be safe, and be back inside by 3:40 PM. As soon as the clock striked 3:10 PM, we were released. We began to exhaust all avenues of revenue, beginning with the parking lot.

The highschool population had been wrung dry, dashing from car to car to gather any change one could spare. We decided to explore other areas of potential, which led us to the notorious Ida Burns. With what seemed like the last breath of air I had after the sprint to the school from the Highschool, I mustered up the words to the teacher standing outside, “Do you all care if we ask parents picking up kids if they want to donate for our pink night?” As expected, due to the cause, we were allowed to stand and await donations. We stood and accepted several donations, before the principal walked out and made us leave due to the “interruption of efficient and timely pickup of kids.” By that time, we were already cutting it close to the deadline, so we began to head back. Feeling content with our earnings, we were confident that we raised the most.

Returning to the gym, we counted the coins (and a few generous bills), wrote the amount on a flash card and turned it in. The opportunity to raise money for such a great cause was an honor in itself, but it couldn’t disguise the obvious defeat when we became aware we were short from the highest amount, by two dollars.