Runners sprint through the hallways and push through crowds to turn in money for their class, with hopes their donations to the Toys for Tots telethon and competition, organized by student council, will be enough for their class to win a prize.

“Not only do I believe this is the most organized thing that my kids do, it’s what they stayed after school hours for, just to make the marathon as perfect as possible; focusing so much on what to do to make it better than the year before and trying to get more kids involved in it,” student council advisor Amber Bronson said.

Telethon prizes included: Tiger tickets, slurpees, Pita Pit, class t-shirts and more. Even after the campaign was over, student council members continued to keep boxes in every classroom for more donations until they had to count the money.

Beginning the Toys for Tots campaign with a bottle drive, student council members also collected money from parents and teachers at conferences. This kicked the marathon into high gear and as a result, they started off with more money than usual, according to Bronson.

“Transitioning from Shelby to Ike was hard; Shelby never really did any fun things like Toys for Tots and the campaign was a nice break from school work. Even though I didn’t win a prize I’m happy I donated,” sophomore Hannah Featherman said.

With donations from parents, students and staff, and the help from Target and Meijer on 26 Mile, student council was able to buy about 1,200 toys to donate to Toys for Tots. While their job is normally finished after the Marines pick up the toys, select student council members worked with families receiving gifts at Eastern Market for the first time.

“I went to help the kids, because I’ve always had a Christmas and I couldn’t imagine not having one,” junior Simona Dimovski said. “I hope that every kid that receives a toy knows how loved they are.”