After requests from Hospice to bring attention to the tree of lights campaign this winter, PALS tried something new.

PALS collect donations during lunch and 4th period classes.

“Anyone can donate: teachers, students, anybody at all,” Brown said. “It doesn’t have to be in memory of someone who has been to hospice; you can light a light for anyone.”

Brown said that she won’t be upset if they don’t reach a few hundred dollars because “anything that we get is adding more to what Hospice has.”

On Dec 18, Hospice will host a radio-athon to help call attention to the campaign and accept donations.

“At that time, our president Kylar Walker will present the money from Rider to Hospice at the radio-athon,” Brown said.

Brown said that if they don’t achieve close to their goal of a few hundred dollars they might bring the donation jugs around the school during the PALS classes, first and sixth periods.

“The PALS do at least 4 hours of volunteer work every six weeks, so we don’t really do fundraisers,” Brown said. “This is my third year to have PALS and I’ve been looking forward to giving back.”

Assistant Principal TiAda Radtke is also glad to help Hospice with gathering donations.

“I have a friend who works at Hospice,” Radtke said. “She had a few flyers about their tree that they light up on top of the bank and she asked me if we can hang a few of them up in the school, I said sure.”

Actions that involve hanging flyers in the hallway have to be approved by Principal Dee Palmore.

“I went in and talked to him about it and he told me Trish Golding works over there,” Radtke said. “She saw him and asked if he was interested in doing something along those lines as far as some kind of donation collecting and making a donation toward them.”

Radtke and Palmore discussed how to go about the fundraiser.

“The reason I chose the PALS is because they have a lot of students in there,” Radtke said. “We have to cut the lights out and have people to be able to man the table during the lunches. When I approached her about it she said she would love to do it because it’s something she is very passionate about and she would do anything to help them.