In order to raise money for Helping Others Through Giving (HOG) Week, and to settle a bet made with teacher Peter Downing, sophomore Jazmine Austin must donate $1,000 before the Opening Ceremony on March 31.

“Raising money for others is important to me because it teaches me there are people with greater needs than my own,” sophomore Jasmine Austin said. “It’s a very humbling experience to give to those in need and shows that no matter how old we are, we can be a part of something bigger than ourselves.”

Downing made a doorstop of Austin as a joke for teacher Alison Thorton’s birthday, which ultimately turned into a HOG Week bet.

“I thought it was funny, because I know their relationship with each other (Downing and Austin),” she said. “They play around a lot. Whenever I saw it, I really just laughed and I thought it was so ‘them’.”

If Austin does not raise the required amount, then the three doorstops will remain in use for the rest of the year.

“Trying to get kids involved was one of the hardest parts,” she said.

Students in Downing’s classes are encouraged to help out the sophomore by dropping loose change into jars filled with water.

“Mr. Downing told us whoever makes the jars’ water flow out gets a free day in class,” senior Devon King said. “That really motivated us to chip in.”

Although the doorstops initially started as a joke, Thorton said the doorstops are for a good cause.

“I know that she (Austin) loved it because she knew she was doing something good for HOG Week,” Thorton said. “(The doorstop) wasn’t for her (Austin’s) attention, it was for the three organizations.”