A penny might be of little value to some kids, but to others living half a world away it means much more.
Sandra Ferguson’s group of compassionate third- and fourth-graders at Hazelwood Elementary School came to that realization during an extensive fundraising campaign that taught them the value of a precious penny and the significance of helping others.
Ferguson’s students stepped up to orchestrate a school-wide collection of coins – mostly pennies mixed with nickels, dimes and quarters – to aid less fortunate children living in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Hazelwood’s student body of an estimated 580 strong raised nearly 12 gallons of loose coinage, totaling $1,010.42, for Pennies for Peace, a non-profit organization of the Central Asia Institute established by Greg Mortenson.
Mortenson is the co-author of the New York Times’ No. 1 best-seller, “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School At A Time”. The book recounts the journey that led Mortenson from a failed 1993 attempt to climb Pakistan’s K2 to successfully establishing schools in some of the most remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Along with raising money, Ferguson’s students read and reported on Mortenson’s book, studied the strife-torn region and made pledges to help others in need.
The campaign had a profound effect on Ferguson’s class by broadening their cultural horizons and discovering their capacities as young philanthropists. They were open to the idea, willing to give of themselves.
“This was a big concept for them to understand … but they embraced it,” Ferguson said. “They understand that there are other people out there who don’t have what we have.”
Young Conner Whitlock added: “You learn not to worry about yourself, but to help others who don’t have as much. … You appreciate what you have.”
As Ferguson prepares to hand over the check to Pennies for Peace, more coins continue to come in.
But as her students have learned, every coin counts. In fact, a penny can buy a pencil in Pakistan and open the door to learning.
