PEABODY — There was an air of excitement Friday at the Captain Samuel Brown Elementary School and it wasn’t just because it was the last day of school before February vacation.
The fun was all about the school’s Cocoa Wars contest, an event that pitted three fourth-grade teams against each other in a race to see who could raise the most money selling hot chocolate.
The funds will be donated to the chosen charity of the top-selling team.
By the time the last delicious drop of cocoa was poured, Team Cocoa Pride took the top honors, raising more than $625. Team Cocoa Masters and Team Winter’s Dream finished tied for second with total sales of about $400.
That, combined with a $50 donation, added up to a grand total of $1,425.79, which is on its way (minus expenses) to Sweet Paws Rescue in Groveland, an organization that works primarily with some of the poorest counties in Mississippi and Alabama. All told, Sweet Paws has rescued more than 18,000 dogs and cats since 2011, according to its website. The organization also works to place abandoned and displaced animals that have been rescued in Massachusetts-seizure cases.
Team Cocoa Masters and Team Winter’s Dream chose the nonprofits Northeast Animal Shelter and Ella’s Army, respectively.
Fourth-grade teacher Lisa Palazola said the students had been working on the project for several weeks and that the idea for the contest came from the book, “The Lemonade War,” by Jacqueline Davies. In the book, a brother and sister compete to see who has the better lemonade stand.
“It all started with the book, but they were selling lemonade in the summer so we decided on cocoa because it’s winter,” said Gabriella Galbiati of Team Cocoa Masters. “Our goal was to raise $100 so we charged $2 per cup. So far, we’ve raised a lot of money — more than our goal I think — and have had a lot of customers.”
The secret to Cocoa Masters’ success?
“People love all the different toppings,” Galbiati said.
Palazola said the students sought out the services of local floral designer Amy Hincman, who did a demo with the students, showing them how she organized her business.
Fourth-grade reading teacher Melissa Cokorogianis said the students developed their business strategies from reading the book together. Teams developed their own budgets, determining how much to charge and the projected number of expected sales based on their fundraising goal and expenses.
“Not only is Cocoa Wars about preparing the hot cocoa for everybody, it’s about working together to plan,” said Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt Jr. “The kids have been doing a lot to present this to the public in terms of business opportunities, and things like, with all aspects of the business from the budgeting and marketing plans, to the details on how to handle the money — all these wonderful lessons they are learning at an early age.”
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Josh Vadala said the event provided multiple learning opportunities.
“It’s an entrepreneurial experience; they’ve done the advertising and the sales and the kids are interacting with one another,” he said. “It’s really exciting the way they are bringing everyone together, just a real good chance for the kids to have a healthy competition and some exposure to the community.”
Vadala noted it’s important to teach children of all ages the importance of being involved in the community.
“By donating to the charities, it teaches the kids to give back and to have a goal,” he said. “They get to be creative and are learning math skills, people skills, just different skills they can learn later on in life, and they are having fun.”
Vadala added that not only were the kids learning life skills, they were also putting out a pretty tasty product.
“I’ve tested it and I give all of them an A+,” Vadala said. “They’ve done a really good job.”
“It was an awesome day and the kids were really proud of themselves,” said Cokorogianis.
