For a local organization, the money that Scotia-Glenville Middle School students collected will literally feel like pennies from heaven. After two months of collecting every penny the students came across, a total of more than $2,000, will be donated to a local charity or organization.
Middle School teacher and GIVE service learning program advisor Allen Calhoun said the students collected the pennies starting in October and had a penny counting event on Friday, Nov. 30, in the school’s gymnasium. About 25 30-pound burlap bags were collected by the sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. He said the students were bringing plastic baggies in every day filled with pennies they found under sofa cushions, in their parents’ cars, and on the sidewalk. Anywhere they could find a penny, they picked it up.
`The students became so involved with the project. It was truly a learning experience made fun for the children,` said Calhoun.
He said the goal of the project is to raise money for a local group in need. The Penny Harvest began in 1991 in New York City and is now a program that is popular across the country. It encourages children to collect pennies and prove that they can be worthwhile to programs throughout their communities. It was created by the nonprofit group, Common Cents, and has proven that today’s youth have an interest in philanthropy.
Last year, the Penny Harvest collections from across the country donated thousands of dollars to groups like the American Cancer Society; Make-A-Wish Foundation and The Red Cross. Calhoun said the middle school students will now take part in an in-depth process that will determine where and how they want to spend the money. Groups in the Scotia-Glenville area will have to fill out an application and then endure an interview process. The students will then hold roundtable discussions about whom they want to receive the money, and will even write mini-grants for the recipients.
`It is really an outstanding process that really teaches our students the value of giving funds and raising funds. It’s wonderful, and we are so proud of our students,` said Calhoun.
Calhoun said homerooms competed to see who could bring in the most pennies. The winner was David Swain’s sixth grade class, which collected a total of 121 pounds of pennies.
Calhoun said the competition added to the enthusiasm of the students and talk about the process could be heard in the hallways, including conversations about different strategies for finding pennies.
`I called all my family members and asked them to mail me some pennies,` said eighth grade student Clara Pinheiro.
Calhoun said the program is one he hopes to see again next year at the middle school.
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