It’s truly amazing what young people can contribute to society, but for them to make their contributions, we need to make ours.

 

For the past 16 years, children between the ages of four and 14 have been converting their natural compassion for others into action by collecting pennies and turning those pennies into grants for community organizations. The Penny Harvest shows young

people they have the ability to change the world by introducing them to the power of philanthropy and service during their formative years. As children help others, they develop their generosity and moral character, and they learn through practice the skills and responsibilities of democratic participation.

 

During the 06/07 school year, almost a half million children from 750 schools in New York City alone took part in the Penny Harvest, collecting nearly 185 tons of pennies or $643,840.83. And every penny collected goes back to the community. After months of research and study, more than 9,000 children sitting on 614 Philanthropy Roundtables made 1,361 monetary grants to non-profits, such as women’s shelters, animal rescue organizations, community gardens and senior centers, and carried out 315 Neighborhood Service projects. Penny Harvests now operate in the Capital Region of NY, Colorado, Florida and Seattle.  

 

But the creation and operation of Common Cents’ programs, including the Penny Harvest, takes money and manpower, and that’s where you can help. Common Cents must annually create and distribute hundreds of teachers with curriculum guides, professional development sessions and hundreds of thousands of boxes of supplies (collection bags and sacks, badges, leader pins and family materials) in order to ensure that the students are able to integrate their good deeds into their standard education.

 

We rely on the support of individuals, corporations, foundations and government agencies to help cover these costs.  To find out more about how you can help Common Cents and the NYC/Metro NY Penny Harvest, please visit one of the following pages:

 

Opportunities for Individuals

Opportunities for Corporations

Volunteering

To support the Penny Harvest in one of our partner sites, contact them directly.

Contact Erin Shakespeare, Deputy Executive Director, Development and External Relations, to learn more about these opportunities at 212-579-0579 x111 or shakespeare@CommonCents.org.