Americans for Common Cents

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The Penny & You

The Penny's Importance For Charity

Common Cents' 17th annual Penny Harvest , a national educational program designed to teach children about their value as contributors to society, collects one hundred million pennies. Hundreds of thousands of city students from more than 800 schools spent the weeks between Oct. 22 and Thanksgiving going door to door and collecting the pennies, which will be donated to organizations of their choice for causes such as protecting the environment and helping the elderly.
Many charitable organizations such as the Salvation Army and the Ronald McDonald House rely heavily on donations from the collection of pennies.
Common Cents New York helps organizations transform "idle pennies into useful dollars," and has helped raise over one half million dollars (50 million pennies) through penny harvesting.
Penny Lovers of America has helped send disadvantaged students to college with the pennies collected in its annual National Penny Recycling Campaign. Penny Lovers of America president, Richard Barber anticipates "three, four, five, 10 thousand students a year getting an education because of the 1 million pounds of pennies raised annually."
The Kindness Foundation in Texas began a Pennies from Heaven drive in May 1995 to help victims of the Oklahoma City bombing and had collected 1.4 million pennies ($14,000) through November 1995. A similar drive involving 42 schools nationwide called Pennies for Hope has accumulated over $26,000 for the same victims.
Habitat for Humanity receives a significant amount of funds from the Parade of Pennies, which is conducted by Church's Chicken. Not even in its first full year, the Parade of Pennies has raised approximately $50,000. Joe Fallon, from Habitat, reported that with these funds "another family has a house."
In 1996 the Trinity Baptist Church in Marion, Ohio organized the first Penny Sunday. Since then church members have donated nearly 4 million pennies ($39,249.49) to the Brother's Brother Foundation, a Pittsburgh-based global-relief organization.
The Los Angeles-based A Penny for AIDS effort, conducted by the Video Industry AIDS Action Committee, raises $100,000 annually for AIDS research.
In an eight day period (December 16-24, 1996), the Washington area Salvation Army collected nearly $6700 in pennies. Also, local Salvation Army stores accept jars of pennies and will give you a receipt for tax purposes.
Wesley United Church in Montreal has gathered about 230,000 ($2,300) pennies for charity in the last nine years. Contributions have gone to organizations like Head & Hands, the Notre Dame de Grace Food Bank, Sun Youth, and Elizabeth House.
A 6-year-old student in Columbus, OH, inspired by a 3-year-old girl seen on the Oprah show, collects pennies to help children in the Children's Hospital.
Parishioners at St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church in Baltimore, MD are hoping pennies from heaven will provide the $500,000 needed to make repairs to the 121-year-old church.
Dick Osgood of Farmington Hills, MI decided to collect pennies after a New Year's resolution in 1936. Since then, the retiree has an investment portfolio worth more than $31,000.

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Americans for Common Cents
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Lincoln In His Own Words

Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a peacemaker the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough. - Abraham Lincoln

News from the US Mint

New 2009 Penny Designs

The Mint will issue different one-cent coins in 2009, in recognition of the 200th Anniversary of President Lincoln's birth

Lincoln Bicentennial

In celebration of Abraham Lincoln's upcoming birthday bicentennial in 2009, the United States Mint plans to issue four new versions of the penny, to be released on a rotating basis.

More information about the Lincoln Bicentennial is available here.

Penny Fundraising

Many corporations, national charities, schools, and local philanthropies have realized the worth of the penny. Through the use of point-of-sale collections and competitive penny fundraisers, these groups have turned thousands of idle pennies into real dollars for everything from college scholarships to housing for the homeless. These fundraisers clearly demonstrate the true value of the penny.

More information is available here

Our Kids Making a Difference With Pennies

How To Conduct a Penny Fundraising Drive

Penny Fundraising Handbook is available here

Penny Power Poster is available here