The day before winter break, Sr. Lauren Espy stands on the gym floor in front of the entire student body sporting a bright red Senior Survivor 2024 t-shirt and beaming victoriously. Against all odds, she’s in the final four, and the only girl left in the competition. The secret to her success… is embarrassing the students of West Ottawa High School.

   Singing telegrams were created in 1933 by the American company Western Union. They were a way to send quirky, long distance messages to friends and family. The name ‘singing telegram’ caught on because Western Union was originally a telegram company. While singing telegrams started as a quirky tradition, they’ve evolved into an unconventional fundraising method in today’s high schools. At West Ottawa, the tradition is alive and well, with choir students using telegrams to raise money—and, of course, to make peers squirm.

   “(There’s a) slight embarrassment of being surrounded by a bunch of high schoolers calling you their valentine,” Sr. Kayleigh Dannels said.

   “You never really know where to look,” Soph. Valerie De Leon says.

   From bake sales to car washes, organizations have attempted to come up with creative ways to raise money. One area remains slightly overlooked, however: the embarrassment that high schoolers deal with on a daily basis.

   High school culture thrives off of embarrassment; it’s what keeps students from going out of their comfort zones, raising their hand in class, or peeling their eyes away from their phones. This makes it the perfect tool to raise some cash. The West Ottawa choir program sells singing Valentine messages, where the top choirs travel from class to class on Valentine’s day delivering songs to the students who received them.

   On February 14, when the Vocalaires entered Instructor Kyle Plank’s class shouting ‘we have a singing Valentine!’ Everyone jerked their heads to look. Students’ faces ranged from uncomfortable to horrified as they began their first note. Frosh. Aaron Solis seemed to retract into himself as the singers surrounded him. The Vocalaires’ harmonies echoed throughout the gym. While bringing music to the halls of West Ottawa may be unconventional, it sure is profitable.

   “This year we made about $150—between $150 and $175—for our program,” Instructor Erin Stier said.

  Another example of profiting off of singing telegrams was during Senior Survivor 2024, when Espy sold Christmas themed singing telegrams. They started at $20 a telegram… but she promised that the more money students paid, the more embarrassing she’d make the message. She wheeled her wagon from class to class, pulling students up and dancing with them, often collecting significant donations for her services. While other survivors had significant cash sponsors or treats to sell, Espy had two major advantages: her lack of embarrassment and her talent.

   “I don’t really have public anxiety,” Espy said.

   “I was fascinated by the use of singing telegrams in Senior Survivor. That was the first time anyone had done that. Lauren Espy earned a ton of money without an upfront investment. It was unique,” Instructor Lindsay Walcott said.

   “Telegrams worked so well because it was unique and the whole premise wasn’t a good performance, but to embarrass people. My main audience was groups of boys trying to get each other. I’d say I made around 400 bucks,” Espy said.

   Peers enjoy making their friends uncomfortable, turning it into a fun and profitable experience.

   For videos of the West Ottawa Vocalaires and Lauren Espy performing singing telegrams, please visit the WOBN Instagram page. (@wobnonline)