SANDPOINT — Sandpoint High School students are throwing down the gauntlet as they launch their annual drive to help Toys for Tots.

How, you ask. The students have set an incentive for each benchmark they hit — from $1,000 all the way up to $10,000.

The school’s drive, which runs from Dec. 11-22, has set down some big stakes, according to the SHS Facebook page.

If the students hit $1,000, ASB officers will each take a pie to the face.

If the students hit $2,000, math teacher Dalton Hawkins will eat live mule worms.

If the students hit $3,000, business technology teacher Kevin Hutchens will eat gum from underneath a desk.

If the students hit $4,000, science teacher Heather Morgan will be duct taped to the wall for a lunch.

If the students hit $5,000, English teacher John Search will dress up in duck costume for a day.

If the students hit $6,000, science teacher Mamie Brubaker will take a polar swim.

If the students hit $7,000, math teacher Lisa Cessna and English teacher Barbara Crumb will dye their hair red.

If the students hit $8,000, social studies teacher Erica Haynes will shave an eyebrow.

If the students hit $9,000, social studies teacher Conor Baranski will get a spray tan.

If the students hit $10,000, SHS administration will deliver donuts to 2A classes dressed as Santa and his elves.

Additionally, the 2A class with the most donated will win an ice cream party.

Now I don’t know about you, I’d dye my hair thatn eat a mule worm or eat gum from under a desk, but you have to give major props to the students for both their ingenuity and sense of fun as they kick off their annual drive.

Want to help them succeed? Drop your donations off at the high school’s front office.

It’s a great way to help Toys for Tots AND help SHS students and get a few donuts and have some fun.

Today’s donations add up to $650, bringing the total to $19,274.97.

Generous contributions were received from: Charles & Dolores Ballo, $50; Jerry & Carol Hastriter, $200; Paula Demers, $100; anonymous (in memory of John Hunt), $50; and Wood’s Meat Processing, $250.

The goal for this year’s campaign is $50,000 — the same as it has been in past years. The Lions make the most of the money by shopping bargains, and with the assistance of generous local businesses.

The Toys for Tots program provides free new toys for children living in the Lake Pend Oreille School District, from Sandpoint to Clark Fork and all points in-between. A Christmas dinner for the family is also provided.

Those who need help this year can apply at the Lions Den, 607 S. Ella Ave., Sandpoint (west of Memorial Field next to the Bonner County History Museum.)

The Lions Den will be open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through Monday, Dec. 18, so members can accept applications. Applications also are available at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare office.

If you have any questions about Toys for Tots sign-up, call Judy Dabrowski, 208-290-5314.

Donations for Toys for Tots can be dropped off at the front desk at the Bonner County Daily Bee, 310 Church St., from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Donations also can be mailed to the Sandpoint Lions Club, P.O. Box 414, Sandpoint, ID, 83864

You can also drop off donations at Columbia Bank’s main branch in Sandpoint, 414 Church St., or at the Ponderay branch, 300 Kootenai Cutoff Road.

Donations made by check are preferred. Be sure to include a note with your check indicating that it is a Toys for Tots donation. If you wish to make an anonymous donation, please include a note.

If the donation is being made in someone’s name, be sure to also include a note.

Caroline Lobsinger can be reached by email at clobsinger@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @CarolDailyBee.