The whole day was organized by clinical administrator Marie Van Nortwick and livestreamed on the hospice Facebook page. Class after class of kids came in, presenting the money they had raised, pulling numbers for raffles and talking with retired teacher Ted Merrihew, who emceed the event with retired WPTZ television weatherman Gib Brown.

Radio Day was originally put on air by WNBZ, and was even filmed for local cable access television, but now only deals with radio in name.

Hospice provides end-of-life services to the elderly, giving them health care, personal care and comfort in the last days of their lives.

Students raised money over the past few weeks in a variety of ways, selling snacks, raffling gift baskets and collecting change from the couch cushions. Each grade level chooses a different fundraising method, bringing the cash it produces to the hospice workers at the event.

Kathy Cavallaro, right, counts cash brought in by students at L.P. Quinn’s Radio Day that will go toward providing hospice services in the next year. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

The day started off with the fourth-grade class announcing that it raised $1,652.66 through a raffle for two “summer fun” baskets filled with beach and pool essentials. The kids’ teacher, Laura Davison, and fellow student Hayley Dennis were the lucky winners of the baskets.

The first-grade class sold freeze pops at $1 apiece, raising $886 from in-school sales.

The preschool class raised $100 in pennies alone, finding the copper change in couch cushions, parents’ cars and at the bank.

“I keep on getting money!” Piper Davis said. “I keep on finding it.”

Fifth-graders sold popcorn, sixth-graders held a quilt raffle, second-graders found money in loose change, third-graders held a bake sale and three kindergartners raffled off Water Safari tickets.

Tupper Lake Central School District Superintendent Seth McGowan issued a “Superintendent’s Challenge” to his colleagues, donating $100 personally to the High Peaks Hospice and asking other district leaders to do the same.

“Tupper Lake is a very generous community … and L.P. Quinn in particular has a long history of making this a very popular event,” McGowan said. “I challenge my superintendent friends from the area to do the same. We’ll see how many of them actually take us up on the challenge.”

Across the room, retired teachers and High Peaks Hospice administrators meticulously slaved over thousands of pennies, dollar bills and checks students brought.

“This is really neat that at this age kids are learning philanthropy … which is probably why this community is so giving to begin with,” Nicholas George said. “They start young, and it’s just a part of life.”

George said he hopes he can use the money to fund pre-hospice programs and clear up misconceptions about hospice.

“While, yes, it is end of life … our job is to get as much life out of you as you can get, to make it worthwhile,” George said. “It isn’t just existing until you die; it’s you get to live until you die.”

Donations make up around 10 percent of the hospice’s annual operating budget and can total $120,000.