Reed Intermediate School's 2015 Pushcart Warriors have broken the school's previous record, by earning more than $5,900 to use toward a charity of the students' choosing.

Pushcart Day was held on Tuesday, June 9, for this year's students, with sixth graders in Petrice DiVanno and Matt Dalton's cluster, Lil Martenson and Michelle Vaccaro's cluster, Maura Drabik and Todd Stentiford's cluster, and Georgia Smith and Valerie Pagano-Hepburn's cluster all participating.

The Pushcart Day effort was inspired by The Pushcart Wars by author Jean Merrill. The book tells the fictional story of a clash between pushcart vendors in New York City and the increasing truck traffic that competed for space.

In 2007, Ms Pagano-Hepburn introduced it to her sixth grade students at Reed, and the students worked to create their own “pushcarts” filled with selected foods and other items, to sell the items while competing, like in the book. That year and for the next few years, the money raised went to charities.

The 2013 Pushcart Warriors donated their $2,800 to build a well through the Well Done Organization at New Life Christian Academy, located in Paynesville, a suburb of Monrovia, Liberia.

In 2014, Reed's Pushcart Warriors raised $5,560 after being challenged by an anonymous donor to raise $3,000. Thanks to the students efforts and the anonymous donor, who gave $22,000 to the cause, a new school building was built and recently opened for New Life Christian Academy.

When Pushcart Day was set up on June 9, students stood by their pushcarts, waiting to sell goods to fellow students who visited the classrooms and perused all of the carts.

Students sold things like lollipops, Smarties, chips, cookies, handmade and purchased stress balloons or balls, handmade bracelets, key chains, bookmarks, and popcorn.

By Friday, June 12, Ms Pagano-Hepburn said the 2015 Pushcart Day raised $5,905, and she said she expects the students to use the money to build two wells at two other schools.