Moline High School students kicked off the annual Share Joys campaign with a record-breaking doughnut-eating contest.

The doughnut-eating contest always starts off Moline High School’s fundraising week. “Share Joys is a fundraiser Moline High School puts on every year to raise money for kids in our district so they can have warm coats for the winter,” Baylie Farmer, a senior at Moline High School, said. “This is our 74th year doing it, and we have raised $1.4 million over the past 74 years.”

Stomachs filled up as Moline High School students scarfed down as many doughnuts as possible, and the Moline Police Department joined in on the fun. “The police department, the funny story is that they were a little upset about not getting the most amount of money last year,” Nishitha Mekala, a senior at Moline High School, said. “They really stepped up their game this year. They got $2,650, which is insane.”

Students also stepped up their expectations. “The bare minimum was to raise $500 per team, and we got that out to people,” Mekala said. “The doughnut-eating contest has almost always been there as a part of Share Joys, so to be able to do this earlier and act as a kickoff to our Share Joys event was pretty great.”

Farmer won the contest for her team, and she wore a crown and cape to show her classmates. “It was really exciting, but very unexpected,” Farmer said. “I did not think it was going to happen, but it was very confusing at the end because they hadn’t declared a winner yet, but it was very exciting. It’s just amazing knowing that the money we raised goes to a great cause.”

A little over $55,000 was raised last year for Share Joys. A spokesperson for Moline schools says they hope to break that number this year. Over $9,000 dollars was raised from the doughnut-eating event, the most it has ever gotten. Throughout next week, students will participate in more activities to raise funds for Share Joys.