Every Penny Counts
Do you have pennies lying around? I’ve got them everywhere: in my car, at the office, and in my jacket pockets. Well, a group of local students is taking those pennies and making change – in our community.
Students from 65 schools recently collected more than 14 tons pennies totaling $78,836.45! That’s a 22% increase over last year. That’s pretty amazing and what’s even better is that the students get to decide how to invest those each and every one of those pennies in the community.
The program that makes this all happen is the Penny Harvest. The Penny Harvest is an awesome youth philanthropy program where Elementary / Junior High school students collect pennies, survey the needs of the community, and then award grants to those in need.
You’re probably thinking to yourself (as I first did), “Aw, what a nice little program for the kids” and just figure the amount they raise is nominal. But as you read earlier, they make a huge impact – a $78,000 impact.
After the kids raise money, they then research community needs, meet with local organizations, and as a group decide where the money they raised will go. In the end, dozens of grants are doled out for issues such as elder care, Basic Needs, and homelessness.
Penny Harvest is one of those really cool programs that’s so obviously good, it’s impossible to not like. Kids raising money, thinking about important issues, and making a difference in the community — I mean, come on.
Like many programs, Penny Harvest is struggling in these tight financial times. While they are raising more pennies than ever, they need funds to support the staff who work directly with the students. The Seattle-area Penny Harvest is building the next generation of philanthropic leaders and I hope they can continue to raise pennies. Learn more about the Penny Harvest Program and consider becoming a Harvest Hero!
Really, the Penny Harvest is totally worth rooting for. If not for the values instilled on the students, or the impact it makes in our community, then for the ridiculous (in a good way) kids videos it leads to, which you can watch below.
[...] The United Way posted a great bit about our Penny Harvest Program on their blog. Here’s a link. Penny Harvest builds excitement for [...]
Penny Harvest youth inspire me! I want to personally congratulate all the students on a job well done. I am very excited to see what issues you decide to address with your funds!
Such an incredible program. Hard to imagine there being a more important education than the one you get by connecting with your community…and learning how to be agents of change when your community needs it most.
Echoing what was written about Penny Harvest on the blog, this is not merely a “cute” program for kids. Look at the amount of money raised by these kids, and that notion is dispelled. Penny Harvest is an important program because it empowers our youth. Before they are old enough to vote, they are acquiring a rich understanding of community-focused decision making. What other programs can boast of that? Penny Harvest is unique, powerful, and makes a true difference to the young citizens who participate in the program.
In today’s tough economic times, when all nonprofits are hurting, what better way to ensure that community-based organizations continue to thrive than to teach our future leaders the importance of philanthropy at an early age.
Thanks for sharing some of the Penny Harvest stories.
I feel reassured that we are raising kids who care about others. Learning how to make change happen at an early age is wonderful and encouraging. Way to go Penny Harvesters!
This is the first year Green Gables Elementary in Federal Way participated in Penny Harvest and it has been very exciting! Our students collected over $1,400 for our community. Our next step is for our student leaders to decide what organization(s) we want to donate to. I think this is going to be a difficult choice as there are so many issues that Green Gables kids care about. Thank you Penny Harvest for giving our students such an amazing way to not just learn about philanthropy, but to become citizens who will work for change!
It’s wonderful that the kids have raised so much money. But the best thing is that the kids are learning that when they work together they have the power to impact the world around them.
I love penny harvest! It makes my heart so very happy to see a record breaking year! I know my leaders last year learned so much from their experience.
Penny Harvest is a terrific strategy for developing the next generation of philanthropists. At Treehouse we have benefitted from Penny Harvest several times. Each time, we have tremendously engaging connections with youth who truly want to solve problems in their community and the world. Each time, they are satisfied that they have made a difference and have ideas about they can continue to do good. We are fans of this approach!
As a current Penny Harvest coach, I have seen the way students of all grades, backgrounds, and economic levels can come together for a common goal of doing good for others. They are even more insightful into the world of community and social issues than I had ever imagined, and it’s been wonderful going through this process with them.
It is a wonderful process for kids to get excited about helping others! It makes me feel hopeful that we are raising future leaders who care and understand what they can do to make a difference.
This program of Penny Harvest has inspired many of our students to realize that a person of seemingly little consequence can make a difference in his/her community. It is great that a seemingly inconsequential penny can have an impact. When you get a number of students focused on a goal and they collect the “worthless” pennies together, a lot of community service gets done. We have collected over $4,000.00 in three years of Penny Harvest and have helped people in our community accomplish their goals.
The Penny Harvest is a very positive way to teach our students that everyone can help since even a penny makes a difference. It also teaches them how to choose a charity. Thanks for giving them this opportunity.
This was the first year our school participated in the Penny Harvest and WOW what an amazing opportunity for us! The students were so excited to collect the pennies that we collected over our goal of $1000. We are excited for the next phase of granting the funds. What a positive way to teach the students about giving, charity and volunteering their community.
Penny Harvest was a great experience for our school. I had heard of it for years but not participated because I thought it would be a lot of work. Now I know what we were missing. The majority of our students come from non-affluent families but everyone could contribute some pennies and feel the joy of helping someone. The students have been so engaged in learning about charitable giving. It has been good for them to think of others and know they can make a difference by their actions. My hope is they will learn life lessons about both “giving back” and the fact that they are not powerless.
Very cool program. For those of us who give to the United Way campaign, it’s very inspiring to see kids really step it up this way.
This was our first year participating also and could not have had a more positive experience. We have been involved in significant fundraising programs and our kids had a great time with this, from the youngest to the oldest. We are excited about the opportunity to make choices about where to give.
The Sharehouse was thrilled to be the recipient of Penny Harvest funds last spring. It is always exciting to see a program that fosters a positive spirit of giving and service in young people.
A great program to engage kids in philanthropy here in our community. A great program for local charities, too!
Penny Harvest is such a wonderful way to show kids that they have the power to bring change to their communities. Penny Harvest is so appreciated here at the Ronald McDonald House!
The Penny Harvest Program allows students to bridge the gap between noticing the change they would like to see in their community to actually making the change in their community. I only began to bridge that same gap as an adult, and it is still an ongoing challenge for me. I wish I’d had a program like this when I was young, which calls for youth to not only collect change, but to look at their community, identify its needs, research already existing resources, and collaborate with them to affect change. Please support this excellent program!
Thanks for such a great article on this amazing effort — the children and schools are inspiring (14 tons of pennies!) and so are the staff at Solid Ground that make this program possible. I’ve had the pleasure of working with them for the last 4 years as the Penny Harvest Program Director at Common Cents and I’m continually inspired by their commitment to the program. They provide the materials each school receives, they offer training to volunteer teachers and they coordinate the logistics – including picking up all of the pennies – to make it possible for these students to participate and learn lessons that will last a lifetime. Please support them and their work in any way you can – as any Penny Harvester will tell you, you can give your time, your talent and your treasure!
This program gets better every year! Congratulations to all the Penny Harvesters and their coaches for another best ever year! I can’t wait to see what organizations will benefit from all your hard work.
The Dalai Lama, when in Seattle, was asked over and over again how to approach this or that world problem. To each he replied, ‘teach the children’. These young Penny Harvesters are learning first hand, and, thus empowered, will be the positive force for change we all seek.
Wow! This is awesome! Well done to everyone involved.
As one of the fortunate recipients of last year’s Penny Harvest funds, our organization, TeamChild, can say with confidence that these kids are truly driven and devoted to positive community building. Thank you again Penny Harvest for your support of our work with troubled youth!! Our Director had the privilege of attending a Penny Harvest award & celebration assembly last year…what a great time it was hanging out with the kids and seeing how they rally together with so much enthusiasm! Keep up the good work Penny Harvesters!!
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United Way of King County mobilizes our community in ways that no single agency, individual, or government can to enhance the ability of people to care for one another.
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