SEATTLE—
A program that helps kids generate money for their communities, now needs its own help. About 22,000 Seatlle-area school children participate in the Penny Harvest. This year, they raised about $78,000 and every penny goes to help local charities. The students get to decide how they spend the money.The students at John Muir Elementary gathered 1,583 pounds of pennies... that adds up to $2,865 dollars! Students there would like to spread that money around to help a few charities. Among several groups they're looking at; a women's shelter, homeless programs and animal shelters.
Students like Sophia Boyd-Fliegel say it adds up quickly "just every little bit counts; once you add up all the pennies, you've collected a lot of money!" 2nd-grader Jaila Willis said the bags were heavy "it made me feel happy and proud that we raised so much money."
The program set a new record for fundraising... but they could be in jeapordy if they don't get community donations to pay for program administration. The program is administered by the non-profit group Solid Ground. When they started the program a few years ago, they obtained grant money to cover the costs but the grants have run out. They're scaling back the program but still have to come up with $85,000 to keep it going.
"It's a way to cultivate that next genertion of civic leaders and community acitvists and philanthropists" Glenn Puckett explains. Puckett said they don't use any of the money collected by the kids to run the program. They're hoping a combination of private donations and/or grant money will help them keep things up and running.
Penny Harvest schools hope they'll find the money. Sue Shorr is the counselor at John Muir Elementary and served as the Penny Harvest Coach. "It really does give every child regardless of their socioeconomic status the chance to contribute and participate" Shorr explained.
