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01.29.10
Penny Harvesters are already responding to the crisis in Haiti
Since the earthquake in Haiti two weeks ago, Common Cents has been flooded with phone calls and e-mails from concerned Penny Harvest coaches wondering how their schools can help the recovery efforts in Haiti. As Penny Harvest schools enter the second phase of the program, students have begun forming Philanthropy Roundtables at their schools. The Roundtables are a distinctive feature of the Penny Harvest which give children the power and the freedom to decide how to spend their harvest funds. A key issue for our students in the coming weeks will be exploring different ways to take action and help the people in Haiti.
01.24.10
Penny Harvest Coaches gear up for Roundtable Season
Last December, Claire Streit, a Penny Harvest Coach at PS 85 in The Bronx, visited a food pantry with a group of her students. The particular group of students she brought to the pantry for a service project were notoriously difficult and had a reputation for being trouble rousers in the classroom. However, the moment they entered the pantry, Claire began to see a transformation in each of her kids. The students witnessed firsthand the need within their own community, and the dignity that the staff treated clients with as they served them hot meals. “They were being empowered to help, to do something real,” Claire said. “I just sat in the back of the room and cried, I could see my kids growing up in front me.”
12.01.09
Celebrating the Generosity of our Youngsters
At the beginning of December trucks will be rumbling through New York City carrying an unlikely load— hundreds of thousands of pounds of pennies. Last year the Penny Harvest collected about 700,000 dollars, primarily in copper (or zinc—pennies haven’t been primarily composed of copper since 1982). Though it only took about a month for students to collect the coins, and will take two weeks for Common Cents to pick them all up, it will take the bank four months to count and sort all the coins.
10.20.09
Common Cents Hosts Penny Harvest Conference for Teachers
This October was the first time in several years Common Cents held a city-wide Penny Harvest professional development session. Common Cents periodically holds these sessions to bring together educators from across the city. The conference brought together new and experienced coaches from New York’s 5 boroughs to sit together and learn about the program, discuss Penny Harvest plans for the upcoming year, and share stories and lessons from their schools.
09.30.09
Teach a child to fish: Reflections from a Fellow's desk
A few weeks ago Micah Gibbens and I, newly minted Common Cents Fellows, were invited to Queens Village for I.S. 109’s Orientation Fair, a back to school kick-off featuring several community organizations from a dentist’s office to a local music and arts studio. I haven’t been to many Orientation Fairs, but this one must have been special because there was a live D.J.; a violin performance by a group of four year olds; and even a New York State Senator, Frank Padavan, who raffled out door prizes. This was only our second time representing Common Cents in public, and we thought of it as a challenge— an opportunity to promote Common Cents’ mission, to offer valuable information, and to generally present ourselves in an official capacity as the Penny Harvest “experts” we had just become.
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FEBRUARY
Charged with identifying important issues in their communities, students take a hands-on approach as they conduct interviews and explore their neighborhoods.
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Pennies made from 1793 to 1837 were pure copper. Today the alloy is 97.5% zinc and only 2.5% copper.
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About Us
Who We Are
“We always get emotional when the pennies are picked up,” explains Cara Usatch, Penny Harvest Coach at PS 398 in East Flatbush. Nineteen tiny kindergarten hands quietly waved goodbye to 28 sacks of pennies (840 pounds!) as the monstrous penny pick-up truck carted them away, but the youngsters would soon wave a happy hello to some new friends due to the Penny Harvest experience...
