How much is a million?
What about 13 million--as in the number of people who perished during the
Holocaust?
Laura Hood's fifth grade class at Temple Israel wants to remember the victims in
a special way by collecting pennies--13 million in number--to correspond to
those who were lost. The students are well on their way with A
MILLION PENNIES collected since mid-December!
Giving "tzedakah" or charity is a "mitzvah" (good deed). The students and the congregation are eagerly bringing in their pennies which will be donated to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. and Yad Vashem in Israel.
25,000 pennies are in the jar!
Preparing for Robin Swoboda's "That's Life" show on Fox 8 (aired in November 2007)
Temple Israel's Hebrew students and their teacher, Mrs. Laura Hood, had an exciting afternoon on October 17 when television crews from Robin Swoboda’s “That’s Life” came to interview them and Holocaust survivor, Carla Kodish, for a story on their tzedakah program, "Pennies for People." The news crew also taped an interview at US Bank at Wallhaven with Karen Kissinger, manager, who is responsible for setting up a Pennies for People account and a big display in its lobby.
Avid Participation
Excitement peaked when the Associated
Press picked up the story in January. The class and parent volunteers were
featured on local news stations, and the print version appeared in newspapers
throughout the country and as far away as Israel. Since reading the article in
their local papers, people have been coming to Temple Israel laden with coins.
Others are using the U.S. Postal Service.
Summer Updates--July 2007
Doing a Mitzvah
Noah Erwin, from Knoxville, Tennessee, selected Pennies for People as his Bar Mitzvah project. “My original goal was 50,000 pennies, but I will exceed that, and I will sned anywhere between 80,000-95,000 pennies.” Noah spent $10 mailing two boxes of rolled pennies—“rolled by the U.S. government, so you won’t have to count them.”
On a Mission
The children from Mt. Victory (Ohio) United Methodist Church collected 10,000 pennies for eight weeks, as one of their mission efforts. “When we reported to the congregation the amount of pennies that had been collected, it was a day of such joy. It was also amazing. To think that the church came together, young and old alike, to make this a reality,” said Pamelia K. Arnold, Lay Leader.
Area Initiatives
The Shaw JCC Summer Camp is collecting pennies, under the direction of Mrs. Laura Hood. A collection chart is tracking the campers’ progress.
Pennies for People collection jars can be found at Yocono’s, the Sandwich Board, and Loyal Oak Golf Course, among other locations. Can we place a collection jar at your business?
Every Penny Has a Face
April 24, 2007—How would
you count over a million pennies? Mrs. Laura Hood and her fifth grade class at
Temple Israel in Akron take the Pennies for People project very seriously. Since
December, people from around the world have been inundating Temple Israel to
support the Pennies for People Project whose goal is 13 million pennies to
remember the victims of the Holocaust. Pennies arrive in jars, jugs, bins,
rolls, bags. Pennies come from pockets, co-workers, classmates, guests. The
project has touched all ages, from children and teens to senior citizens.
What are the donors’ stories? Here is a sampling:
Jillian Raber from Lake High School in Uniontown, Ohio, spearheaded the
collection of 4500 pennies from the Senior National Honor Society and Holocaust
literature class. The students read about the Pennies for People project and
wanted to donate pennies as their service project. Reading Night by Elie
Wiesel affected the group.
Stephen Werber, a law professor at Cleveland State University, invited his
students to his family’s seder (Passover meal) with the stipulation that they
bring pennies, resulting in 1000 pennies collected.
The Schweiger family of Akron, Ohio, brought a jar of pennies saved by Todd
Schweiger’s godparents, who saved the pennies for their entire married
life—nearly 50 years to date. It took two men to carry the jar, and the task of
counting became a family activity. There were 6084 pennies inside.
Marty Zack of Batavia, Illinois, wrote: “I took the change (748 pennies) from
our ‘Cabin Fund’ jar. I hope this effort of yours can bring a touch of reality
to the terrors of the Holocaust. What a commendable project!”
“The students at Webb Elementary (in Franklin, Indiana) wanted to help you raise
pennies. We collected 1,961 pennies in hopes that we could make a difference.”
What is it like to count pennies? How do you control the continuing surge of
bins of pennies? The latest “technique” combines counting 100 pennies, combining
the 100s to become 1000, and finally, putting 5000 pennies into large sealed
plastic bags. On April 22, for example, the fifth grade students met before
Sunday School to count and produce several bags of 5000—that’s $50 per bag!
How Can You Participate?
If the public would like to participate, please bring your pennies to Temple Israel, 133 Merriman Road, Akron, Ohio 44303 or send a check. For more information, call (330)762-8617.
