Laughter filled the Mercy auditorium as students watched an MTV-themed video on March 14. This video was created by Mercy’s Sweepstakes committee in efforts to excite students and encourage them to sell their Sweepstakes tickets.

“[The Sweepstakes committee] had been preparing and planning this assembly since November,” said senior member Aliya Hakim. “We have been meeting every Monday during adviser group and filming outside of school hours.”

Students are expected to sell a minimum of six books that contain five tickets each. Tickets are $5 individually, and a book of tickets is worth $25. Students are given incentives to sell. Incentives include an out of uniform pass, a shorts pass, and three days off school. This year, students were introduced to a new opportunity, the chance to earn a leggings pass if they sell 16 books.

Those who purchase Sweepstakes tickets are put into a drawing. The four prizes are worth $10,000, $5,000, $2,500 and $1,000. Tickets are drawn at Mercy on May 15.

“There are many ways that you can sell your tickets,” said Ms. Olivia Hanna, Mercy’s Special Events Coordinator. “You can sell at church, sporting events, and you can sell tickets like Girl Scouts sell their cookies, outside in your neighborhood.”

Sweepstakes has been a Mercy tradition for over 20 years, as a way to get students excited about raising money for their school community.

“The money from Sweepstakes helps scholarships, helps offset tuition costs, goes toward building upgrades, and toward technology updates,” said Ms. Hanna.

Students can look forward to the Sweepstakes closing assembly on April 13. The committee is planning something fun related to the MTV theme.