Pennies on the lawn

The Penny Project kicked off the summer reading program for Alamosa'a Southern Peaks Library. A crowd made up of 100+ children and their moms and summer teachers gathered on the lawn to listen to some of my 1973 penny's journeys. My own children played the roles of a waiter turned rock star, a theme park princess and a sickly little girl, all of whom have possessed said penny. I held up props, such as a gumball machine, stinky tennis shoe and "used" tissue, to show some of the places the penny has been during its 36 years in circulation.

The children then wrote their own penny journeys which the children's librarian has promised to post on her blog and I will also attempt to do on mine. We also had a penny cleaning station where the children dropped their most dirty pennies into small containers of vinegar and baking soda and waited patiently for the grunge to disappear from the copper facing.

The library has agreed to host a penny fundraiser this summer and contribute all donations to the Storefront Billion Penny Project. An independent grade school in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City is attempting to raise a billion pennies. I learned of their quest online and have since spoken to the teacher who leads the project. Steve Bergen told me that the families of 90% of the students live below the poverty line and this project is teaching them not only what a billion pennies will look like, but also the importance of teamwork, one penny at a time. The money is earmarked not only for their school, but also for at least one other organization who demonstrates a need through the process. The story is a great one and you can read about it on their website (http://www.cstorefront.org/pennies/). Steve and I are brainstorming on ways to connect our rural students with his inner city ones when classes resume in August...oh, the wonderful possibilities that exist all because of pennies!!!