By Laura Acuff, Student Reporter

In an effort to put a philanthropic spin on being late to practice, social club Ko Jo Kai has decided to donate late fees to Heifer International, an organization committed to ending world hunger. The funds will go to purchase honeybee hives for developing countries, mirroring their own honeybee themed Sing Song act.

“They really like it, and a lot of money is usually raised,” said club member Abigail Goldsmith, junior elementary education major from Abilene. “This is just a way that kind of connects to our theme, and so it’s also a fun way to support.”

Ko Jo Kai has always maintained the policy that when members are late for Sing Song practice, they must pay $1. This year, however, one of Ko Jo Kai’s sponsors got the idea to donate honeybee hives from her kindergartner, who donated $500 to buy a milk cow for people living in a developing nation, said director Jamie Lyn Spires, junior communications major from Arlington.

“It’s just a Kojie tradition. If you’re late, you pay a dollar,” Spires said. “They get really mad when they have to pay a dollar, and so they don’t want to be late because you’re in front of everybody putting that dollar in the jar.”

Spires said late fees are effective in promoting punctuality, and although Goldsmith said she hasn’t been late yet, she does intend to contribute a donation to the club’s fundraiser, repercussions of which go beyond a simple one-time food donation.

“They have these beehives, and so they make money off these crops, and so they don’t have to worry about finding jobs,” Spires said. “We’re going to try to buy at least three hives. They’re only $30 a piece, and they double the crop and produce or whatever in the fields, and so we just thought it would really cute because we’re honeybees this year, to donate something like that.”