A junior looks into the lens of the iPhone camera, tilts his head back and places a cookie on his forehead. As the camera-man gives him the thumbs-up, he scrunches his forehead and sticks out his tongue—trying desperately to direct the cookie into his wide-open mouth. The cookie falls to the floor and the student winces in disappointment.

The cookie challenge was just one of many new fundraising methods that Leadership implemented this year. From Whitman street performers to weekly dine-outs, Leadership certainly has been creative this year, and it seems like the new fundraising techniques really helped the cause.

The cookie challenge video nearly quadrupled the online fundraising total, according to senior Mia Carmel, head of the bRave committee. The challenge drew kids from around the school to post the video and donate.

“I thought it was a creative and new way to raise money for LLS and I couldn’t turn down a challenge that involved eating a free cookie,” junior Andrew Wright said.

Leadership decided to implement new fundraising methods because LLS month has been a major fundraising event for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society for so many years.

“Because the community has been so involved in LLS fundraising for so long, we at Whitman are suffering from severe donor fatigue,” Carmel said.

Another new fundraising technique was Whitman street performers—students performed their musical stylings in the cafeteria and collected money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society.

“I really wanted to do the the street performers thing because I felt like it would be a lot of fun to kind of jam and do what I do best, to raise money for a good cause,” senior Colin Mitchell said.

Students also got involved with the weekly dine-out nights that took place throughout the month. Restaurants in downtown Bethesda, like Nando’s Peri Peri and Noodles and Company, gave a percentage of their profits to support the cause.

Of course, there were the classic events like Guy Auction and Battle of the Beards, but these new, refreshing fundraising ideas further encouraged Whitman students to donate their spare change.

“The chairs of LLS month have done a really good job supporting the committees,” junior Leadership member Joe Weidemann said. “We all have a lot of enthusiasm and everyone has been working as a team.”

Video by Julian Robinson.