How it Began

In the fall of 2007, North Muskegon’s eighth grade language arts classes read The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, a drama based on the book Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. (Who is Anne Frank?) During the unit of study, I discovered the Paper Clip Movie (Paper Clips), watched it at home, and informed the students about the Whitwell, Tennessee project. Inspired by The Diary of Anne Frank and the Paper Clip Project (Paper Clip Project), the students were eager to work on a project of their own that would bring awareness of the social injustice and intolerance that led to the devastation and cruelty of the Holocaust.

We contemplated connecting eleven million paperclips and looping them around the school or city of North Muskegon. This idea presented a cross-curricular opportunity and the math teacher next door worked with my last hour class on a story problem. “If eleven million one-inch paperclips were strung together, the distance covered would be …” approximately 347 miles, North Muskegon to Ann Arbor and back. We were awed and continued to think of other project possibilities. Then, one student voiced the idea of collecting pennies. We could donate them to make a physical, fundamental difference in people’s lives. This idea stuck. The project goal became: to collect eleven million pennies representing the victims of the Holocaust and to donate them ($110,000) to help the people victimized in today’s genocide in Darfur-Sudan. US Holocaust Memorial Museum – Responding to Genocide Today

Becoming a Nonprofit

The project grew bigger than just one class of students. In order to continue with the idea, it became necessary to file articles of incorporation as a nonprofit organization separate from the school. Fellow teachers, friends, business leaders, and community members volunteered to serve on the board of directors and the organization became a domestic nonprofit corporation. The organization is not a 501 (c) (3) and cannot offer tax deductions for donations.

Our Mission

Our general purpose for the corporation is to promote awareness of social issues and to provide assistance to people in need of life’s basic necessities. The initial project of the nonprofit group was to collect eleven million pennies in memory of the lives lost during the Holocaust and to donate the money to the Darfurians struggling for survival. This goal was daunting. Thus, the primary focus was revised at the annual board meeting in June 2009. Donate Pennies Organization will continue its general purpose of collecting pennies to honor the victims of the Holocaust with donations supporting the refugees in Darfur. The primary purpose of the organization, now, is  focused on helping people to be more conscientious and encouraging individuals to take action.

Our Volunteers

Donate Pennies has six board members, adult volunteers, and students supporting the organization’s mission. The intention is for the project to be student driven and to reach beyond the local school into the global community. Thank you for any and all support you can offer in helping us make a positive impact on individuals in our world community. If you would like to volunteer or have a project idea, please email me at info@donatepennies.org.

Sincerely,

Sarah Knuth
North Muskegon MS/HS Language Arts Teacher
Donate Pennies Director