 |
|
Visit our blog to keep up with what's happening at Common Cents!
Find us elswhere online:
|
|
 |
|
Home > Celebrating the Generosity of our Youngsters
December 1, 2009
by Arvin Temkar, Common Cents Fellow
 At the beginning of December trucks will be rumbling through New York City carrying an unlikely load— hundreds of thousands of pounds of pennies. Last year the Penny Harvest collected about 700,000 dollars, primarily in copper (or zinc—pennies haven’t been primarily composed of copper since 1982). Though it only took about a month for students to collect the coins, and will take two weeks for Common Cents to pick them all up, it will take the bank four months to count and sort all the coins.
As the official end of this year’s penny collecting draws near, we’re hoping to meet or beat last year’s collection total. Since its conception in 1991, the Penny Harvest has exploded, and is now a daily part of children’s lives in more than 800 schools in New York City. It has drawn in about $7.7 million, all of which has found its way to community based organizations that children choose to support, including animal shelters, hospitals, and food pantries.
And while the penny frenzy will soon be over, the Penny Harvest is certainly not. In the spring students will form Roundtables to discuss and deliberate community issues, they will take action by participating in community service projects, and they will donate their hard earned funds to deserving organizations.
This is a big year for Common Cents. In April we were named one of five educational partners of NYC Service, an initiative by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to increase volunteerism and service in the city. In November, we launched our first ever Parent Harvest, a new initiative to help build relationships with parents and strengthen their support for the Penny Harvest. One school has already given us hope, saying that from a survey of parents more than half wrote that Penny Harvest was their child’s favorite school activity! We also recently launched our new blog, which we hope will become a beacon for discussions about child philanthropy and service-learning in New York.
As the year winds down and the holidays approach, we will all be touched by the spirit of giving. But at the Penny Harvest we know that through the generosity and good will of children, this spirit will continue through the winter, into next spring, and onward, so long as we all continue working hard and doing good— children, parents, and supporters alike.
Arvin Temkar is a Common Cents Fellow and part of the first New York City Civic Corps.
|
About Us