JULY-AUGUST E-NEWSLETTER

Penny Harvest Students “Reach Out” to Save Local Food Pantry

Six months ago, Thomas Neve was faced with a tough decision. Demand for Reaching Out Community Services, the food pantry he runs in Brooklyn, was at an all time high and their current location was getting cramped. He would either have to start turning people away or invest in a larger space.

For an organization solely dependent on donations, this wasn’t an easy choice. But turning away clients wasn’t an option, so Thomas moved the Reaching Out facility and hoped for the best. Students from 12 Penny Harvest schools came to the rescue by donating enough money to keep Reaching Out open.

To find out what happened and how children helped, Click here.

Is your school signed up for the 08/09 Penny Harvest?

We are currently enrolling schools for the upcoming school year. Now is the time to sign-up! The Penny Harvest is a one-size-fits-all answer to promoting character development, civic engagement, and a positive school environment for students, staff, and families.

If you live in one of our program sites - Capital Region of NY, Colorado, Florida, New York City/Metro NY, or Seattle – be sure to sign-up today! If you live outside one of these communities, and are interested in bringing this award-wining program to a school near you, contact Kylie Gursky at kgursky@CommonCents.org.

From left to right: Back Row: Gracie Rifino (Senior Youth Leadership Fellow), Kylie Gursky (National Program Associate), Monique Achu (Education Associate), Adam Seidel (NYC Program Director), Seth Cohen (Deputy Executive Director/ National Director of Programs and Operations), Natalie Zuckerman (Community Development Fellow).
Seated: Patricia Batista (Program Operations Fellow), Joanna Geller (Program Associate).
Insert: Melissa Rozon (Senior School Partnership Fellow).

The Common Cents program team is responsible for keeping the Penny Harvest running in New York City and helps support our partner sites throughout the country. While students are the ones doing the work of collecting pennies and making decisions, this team provides support and technical assistance.

Common Cents Recieves Grant from Trinity

The Parish Trinity Church in New York City recently awarded Common Cents a grant to develop a series of papers covering topics related to youth development and school reform.  This grant is part of Trinity’s “All Our Children” education initiative to pursue policies that support young people as change agents in the schools and neighborhoods.

 As part of this grant, Trinity is also funding Common Cents to begin conversations with key thought leaders in education and philanthropy. 

In the next several months we look forward to sharing and publishing some of these reflections with you.

New poll

Who do you think should be responsible for teaching our children to be good citizens?

A. Families
B. Schools
C. Religious institutions
D. Educational programs (like the Penny Harvest!)
E. All of the above

Visit our home page to participate in this poll.

Support our work! Click here to make your tax deductible contribution.

Click here to see more news features about the Penny Harvest.

NY1 News (Staten Island) - 07/11/08
Penny Harvest Raises Thousands For Needy Kids
Penny Harvest students at P.S. 6 in Tottenville are chosen as NY1 New Yorkers of the week.

Click here to check out our job and internship opportunities.

Visit us on Do Good, YouTube, FaceBook and MySpace.