Every year, the Academic Boosters holds a phone-a-thon in an effort to raise money for Jefferson’s many academic teams and activities, ranging from debate and forensics to the math team.

On Feb. 2, several dedicated parents and students spent hours calling and emailing parents, asking for donations. After securing payments or pledges from families who are members of the Academic Boosters, the volunteers filled envelopes with letters thanking them for their help.

Junior Nadege Aoki, a tournament director for TJ Quiz Bowl, volunteered at the phone-a-thon from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“We really appreciate the help we get from the Academic Boosters because we get a lot from them in terms of regular fees,” she said.

According to Academic Boosters president Shalini Bhatia, the Academic Boosters provide over 20 academic teams approximately $40,000 each year total.

“We help with the student registration and sponsor travel costs to various competitions. The support we can provide to the teams depends on the parent contributions towards Academic Boosters membership,” Bhatia said. “We truly appreciate the help we received from the student volunteers from the various academic teams with the phone-a-thon.”