Newsletter Article #1 4/30/13
Who Gets the Harvest?
Penny Harvest Students Award Grants to Nonprofits
Students around Columbus participating in the Penny Harvest Program worked diligently throughout the winter, researching issues from their schools’ ‘Wheel of Caring.’ Student Leaders have connected and interviewed with nonprofit organizations that addressed those issues. At weekly meetings, the students collaborated on important questions, debated the qualities of different organizations and gathered the most information possible. After all, the Penny Harvest schools worked very hard to raise $41,372.43. They want to be sure their money is put to the best use possible.
Most Penny Harvest schools conducted multiple interviews over several weeks:
· Binns Elementary Student Leaders talk to a representative from The Center for Family Safety & Healing and Susan G. Komen Foundation.
· Devonshire Elementary sat down with Volunteers of America and Community Kitchen.
· Southwood Elementary talked with Faith Mission, Choice - Domestic Violence Prevention and Citizens for Humane Action Animal Shelter, just to name a few schools.
Not only are the Student Leaders gaining valuable information from these and dozens of other nonprofits, they are learning about available resources within their communities.
Now, the interviews are complete and the schools have voted on what organizations will receive their Penny Harvest Grants. Thousands of dollars are to be given away this spring by schools participating in Penny Harvest.
· Eastgate Elementary donated $370.50 to The Buckeye Ranch and $370.49 to Franklin County Children Services. Trevitt Elementary gave $326.91 to Faith Mission.
· Oakland Park Elementary granted $2107.77 to The March of Dimes. Liberty Elementary students, along with giving $400 to Make A Wish Foundation, are going to make cards to give to families in the program.
· Old Orchard elementary is giving $563.89 to A kid Again and will do a pantry drive for St. Stephen’s Community House.
· Phoenix Middle School is awarding 8 different grants: The Worthington Resource Center, JDRF, Jewish Family Services, Local Matters, Nature Conservancy, North Central Mental Health Services and The Special Olympics--WOW!
This is just a glimpse of the dozens of monetary and service contributions distributed around the city as a result of the Penny Harvest Service Learning Program.
Not only do the charitable organizations benefit from these grants, the children benefit by knowing they can make a difference in the life of someone struggling with illness or poverty, or helping animals with adoption or saved from abuse. These students have also gained so much knowledge and awareness about homelessness and hunger, veterans and the environment, and dozens more significant concerns impacting our community every day.
Penny Harvest students have learned through the process of Gather Pennies, Roundtable and Take Action, every penny counts when people work together. Additionally, whatever your age, you can still make an impact on others in a positive, lasting way.
Featured Penny Harvest Schools
Moler Elementary is in their second year participating in Penny Harvest. The coaches Melissa Shumaker, Beth Stultz and Amanda McClellen have really enjoyed meeting with the Student Leaders, watching them grow as community leaders and philanthropist. Moler raised $968.27 through their harvest and decided to focus their efforts on the issues of childhood illness, poverty and animal welfare. Through their research the leaders decided to interview five nonprofit organizations. All of the organizations do important work and have essential services for our communities. The decisions as to where to donate their harvest must have been challenging. Ultimately, Moler Students granted Kids N Kamp with $484.13 to use to assist in the operation of running the camp for terminally ill children. They also gave The Open Shelter $484.14 to help the needs of individuals actively living outside. In the two years Moler Elementary has participated in Penny Harvest, they have given away $1,525.27 in community grants.
Clinton Elementary has participated in Penny Harvest for two years. Coaches’ Kitty Horan and Stephanie Spark find challenging at times to get the kids together to meet, but believe their efforts are well worth it! Clinton raised $1,240.69 through their harvest this year. The most important issues from their Wheel of Caring were homelessness, hunger, healthcare, animal welfare, afterschool clubs, and children’s health issues. Through their research and interviews, they decided on two organizations: Faith Mission will receive $740.69 to purchase food for the soup kitchen. The Clintonville/Beechwold Community Resource Center will receive $500 to ensure the free after-school programs had enough games, sports equipment and books for kids. In the two years Clinton Elementary has participated in Penny Harvest, they have given away $2,887.16 in community grants.
Slate Hill Elementary has participated in Penny Harvest for three years. Teacher, Richard Fuller has been a fan of Penny Harvest and looks forward to mentoring his Student Leaders. The issues they focused on were breast cancer, caring for animals, childhood illness, and drug abuse. They were very busy organizing and conducting interviews with four organizations that addressed these concerns. Ultimately, the school decided to split the harvest and donate to all of them! $349.09 will be granted to each of the following: Make A Wish Foundation to help children with life threatening medical conditions. Stop the Suffering to help save dogs and cats from euthanasia. Tyler’s Light to cover costs of presenting their message ‘Speak up, Save a Life’ drug awareness to students in the central Ohio area. Lastly, The Stephanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research to help find a cure, inspired because a student’s mother at Slate Hill is currently dealing with breast cancer. In the three years that Slate Hill Elementary has participated in Penny Harvest, they have given away $3,532.99.
Northtowne Elementary has participated in Penny Harvest for two years. Meg Paolacci and Karen Johnston have really enjoyed being the Coaches for Penny Harvest and agree it gets better year after year. They focused their research on animal care, childhood illness, cancer and breathing problems. The Student leaders discovered five nonprofits to interview that tackle these issues. In the end, the school decided to donate $377.05 to Charity Newsies, an organization that helps many families at Northtowne, and $377.05 to Flying Horse Farms which assists children with serious illnesses. The school is also planning a newspaper drive for Pets without Parents to help with bedding and keeping the animals comfortable. Over the two years participating in Penny Harvest, Northtowne Elementary has given away $1,647.42.
Newletter Article #1 1/25/13 Students Solving Community Problems One Penny at a Time!
Five years ago, See Kids Dream introduced students in Central Ohio to the power of the Penny Harvest service learning program. The students lead the implementation of the program in their school – not just parts of the program but the entire program with support from some of our community’s most passionate educators. The student form creative ideas, solve problems, and make decisions that affect the outcomes of the program in their classroom, their school, and our community. Their creative energy is palpable.
This year, elementary students in over 40 schools are finding their voice, collaborating with their peers, researching the needs of our community, and preparing to make meaningful philanthropic decisions.
We hope you’ll follow the student’s efforts and join a community conversation by “Liking” See Kids Dream on Facebook. You’ll see first-hand examples of the work being done by students like Hannah, and her classmates at Liberty Elementary. Last year they focused on addressing poverty. They voted to donate their Penny Harvest funds and volunteer their time for an organization that provides clothing and school supplies for disadvantaged youth. This is just one example of how students are learning about issues and taking action.
Each of us can make a difference in our community, if we are willing to act. Just ask a local Penny Harvest student and they will tell you that every penny and every effort counts. We’d love to hear your thoughts, once a quarter, through this newsletter, we promise to show how local students are making an impact and we hope their leadership will inspire you to take action!
Thanks for your support
See Kids Dream Staff
Newletter Article #2 1/25/13
It All Starts With You
“It All Starts With You” this was the message Penny Harvest students who attended the 5th Annual Purpose for our Pennies event December 12thheard from a 4th grade Penny Harvest leader Jack Coe. The event marks the end of the first of three phases of The Penny Harvest. During this phase the students identified community issues and worked together to gather pennies. Those pennies really add up, this year the students collect $41,372.43, that’s over 4 million pennies!
The students and their family members who attended had an opportunity to celebrate, meet their peers from across Columbus and talk with more than 40 different nonprofit organizations who have received Penny Harvest support from students in the past.
So, what will the students do with all those pennies? That question will be answered in the coming months. Over the winter the students at each of the 43 central Ohio schools will be collaborating, debating and researching the community issues they identified. By the end of March, the student body in each school will vote on how to take action. They will award grants and volunteer on service projects addressing issues ranging from homelessness and hunger to helping children suffering from life threatening illnesses, animals in local shelters or helping the environment.
The students have thousands of dollars to give away! They will soon realize collecting their pennies was the easy part. Prioritizing and making the decisions about how to help can be difficult as the students learn first-hand about the needs of others.
Through their efforts the students see they have the power to make the world a better place. By using community service as an educational strategy, the students are also developing critical thinking, problem solving, communication, leadership and teamwork skills. All of these are skills that will help them to succeed in school and in life.
5/31/12
Penny Harvest Students Made a Big Difference As They Issued Grants to Help Others last school year
The Penny Harvest leaders across the city have worked hard last school year. With the support of local educators and the community, in the fall the students collected $50,125.59. Over the winter the students identified and researched community issues they and their classmates were passionate about. These issues were posted on a Wheel of Caring in each building.
10.25.11
(COLUMBUS, OH) – See Kids Dream announced their intention to break the world record for the longest continuous chain of pennies at the Run for a Dream last Saturday. A group of students participating in See Kids Dream’s service learning program the Penny Harvest along with their families and other community volunteers laid a “test mile of pennies” at the event. The volunteers laid the 84,480 pennies in just less than 3 hours on the track at Thomas Worthington High School. The students and the staff at See Kids Dream learned a lot from the test that will help them as they prepare to set a new world record at the Columbus Arts Festival during the summer of 2012.
See Kids Dream set the goal to lay the penny chain to help celebrate the 2012 Columbus Bicentennial and more importantly to build awareness and symbolize what students can do when they are given the opportunity to lead and to help. Through the Penny Harvest, students during the 2011-201 school year, just as they have the past three years, will be collecting change and then after researching local issues, they will give it all back to address the community needs they choose. Through the process the students build self-confidence, critical thinking, team-work communication and leadership skills. See Kids Dream, hopes that by the spring of 2012, the students will have raised and given away enough money, that if it was laid down as pennies it will set a new world record.
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4.18.11
(COLUMBUS, OH) – See Kids Dream announced today that the Penny Harvest service learning program will be expanded to a total of 50 schools throughout Central Ohio next school year.
The expansion will be made possible through a partnership and grant See Kids Dream was recently awarded by The Columbus Foundation. See Kids Dream is one of three local charities identified as partners to help celebrate Columbus Bicentennial in 2012.
See Kids Dream’s service learning program, the Penny Harvest, was the catalyst for the partnership with The Columbus Foundation. The Penny Harvest puts students in charge of identifying, understanding and addressing the needs of others in our community. The student’s management and direct control of all research and funding decisions is what makes Penny Harvest unique in comparison to other programs that engage students in fundraising or service.
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4.27.2010 - Students debate ways to use small change to make a big impact
"I agree people in Haiti need our help. Lots of people lost their homes and were hurt, but they can get their homes back. What about kids in Columbus who may lose their lives to cancer? They really need our help too and maybe even more than the people in Haiti."
This is just one example of the passionate opinions being expressed in classrooms, school libraries and cafeterias at elementary schools across Columbus and Worthington as students participate...
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Columbus Parent Magazine
3.23.2010 - Students empowered to help others through Penny Harvest
Students, schools, and the community at large will all see big benefits from the millions of pennies gathered locally in a service learning program called the Penny Harvest. This school year nearly 7,500 elementary students from 19 Columbus and Worthington City schools are participating in the program.
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Columbus Parent Magazine
2.17.10 - Crimson Cup signs on for Penny Harvest program
Crimson Cup on North High Street has signed on to support Colerain Elementary School in Clintonville for the Penny Harvest, a yearlong service learning program that empowers students to become engaged in their communities.
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ThisWeek Community Newspapers
11.03.09 - Local charities will reap bounty of schools' Penny Harvest
Worthington students will be among the 7,000 students from Worthington and Columbus schools breaking piggy
banks, looking under couch cushions and car seats and going door to door to ask for pennies for the Penny Harvest
program.
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Worthington News
1.19.09 - Children decide how to help their community with 1.5 Million pennies.
Students from seven area elementary schools in the Columbus City and Worthington school districts are faced with an exciting challenge. They must decide how to help their community by giving away over 1.5 million pennies. This fall, nearly 3,000 students went door-to-door with their families, to connect with neighbors, raise money and help others. The students raised $15,114.16; nearly all of it in pennies or spare change. These students are the first in Columbus to participate in a year-long service learning program called the Penny Harvest. The Penny Harvest is the nation's largest youth philanthropy program and it is being introduced to Columbus by a local nonprofit, See Kids Dream.
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Columbus Parent Magazine
12.08.08 - Kid's coins add up for charity
Students from several local elementary schools gathered yesterday at Columbus' Devonshire Alternative Elementary to celebrate the philanthropic efforts of more than 3,000 central Ohio children.
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The Columbus Dispatch - Garrett Downing
11.19.08 - Students 'harvest' pennies for charity
Students from four Worthington elementary schools are collecting pennies to make change in the world.
Neighbors and friends of students at Granby, Liberty, Slate Hill, and Wilson Hill elementary schools can expect to be asked to donate their spare change to the students participating in a pilot of Penny Harvest, a nationwide program that allows young children to become philanthropists and to see how their efforts can make a difference.
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ThisWeek Community Newspaper - Candy Brooks
11.12.08 - Coppery coin collection will help kids' favorite charities
A passion for pennies is sweeping over two Worthington elementary schools as students help out local charities with a month-long Penny Harvest.
Granby and Wilson Hill elementary schools both kicked off Penny Harvest drives during assemblies held Friday, Nov. 7, asking students to begin collecting pennies and consider which organizations will receive donations.
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Worthington News - Pamela Willis
The students conducted online research, interviewed and conducted student body polls and met with leaders from many different non-profit agencies. Some of the issues the students learned about in their research included homelessness,hunger, domestic violence, suicide prevention, the impact of life threatening illnesses like cancer, environmental concerns and animal welfare. Through their collaborative efforts, students developed critical thinking and problem solving skills. They learned to work in teams, how to lead and communicate effecitvely and of course they developed empathy and compassion as they gained insight into the needs of others.
The students research efforts were culminated in forty seven schools with building wide votes, truly democracy in action. Through the votes central Ohio students made their final decisions on how to give back every penny of the funds they raised in this year's Penny Harvest. Some of the schools had an extra $500 to donate through a grant from J.P. Morgan Chase. In the fall the students learned about the Chase Challenge, schools who completed volunteer service projects and had atleast ten students sign up to volunteer in the See Kids Dream World Record Penny Chain, were given an additional $500 to donate back to the community.
In total, the students awarded 153 financial gifts or service projects totalling $67,125.59 and hundreds of hours of community service. Fifty-nine local non-profits were the benefactors of the student's philanthropic endeavors. The top issue addressed by the students was homelessness and hunger with a total fof 44 different grants awarded, this was followed by childhood illness and animal welfare both receiving 34 different grants. A breakdown of the number of grants awared by issue is shown in the table below.
The entire Columbus community benefits from the incredible work of these students. Through their efforts to address needs in our community today, they are developing skills to succeed in life and thereby strengthing our community for the future. Someday these students will be the CEO's, the police officers, the entreprenuers, community leaders and nonprofit board members who insure our community remains strong. This year's Penny Harvest results make the future look pretty bright.