Legal Name Of Organization
Common Cents New York, Inc.
Purpose Of Funds
The Penny Harvest is the largest service learning program active in New York City, operating in more than 800 schools throughout the five boroughs including 5 schools in District 3 this year including PS111, NYC Lab School, NYC Museum School, Village Community School, and the Little Red School House. Through the program, children gather pennies, make grants and take action to help people and causes that matter to them. Annually, NYC children make hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to protect the young and the elderly, support disaster relief and fight disease and defend the environment and human rights. As children progress through the program, they learn to be responsible citizens, philanthropists and community organizers and leaders. 1) Gathering Pennies: A school-wide, 4 week fall campaign to gather pennies to earn a $1,000 budget for student grant making. 2) Making Grants: Student leaders, usually 10-15 students across multiple grades, meet weekly for 16 weeks to represent their school in grant making. They research and discuss community issues with peers, and community members; identify, interview and visit potential grantees; and ultimately, make funding decisions. Students use research, problem solving, teamwork, leadership, and communication skills, and involve the entire student body in their research and decision making. The $1,000 budget is most often broken into several small grants and service projects (Taking Action). 3) Taking Action: Student leaders organize a volunteer project of their choice, often involving the entire school. Common Cents staff trains and supports teachers to link service projects with academic lessons, whether it be planting a garden, or planning a community health fair. We credit our success to the year-round curriculum, training, and support we provide to schools and our commitment to research and innovation. Common Cents trains an adult facilitator in each school (a Penny Harvest Coach) to work with a group of student leaders to run the year-long program. We provide over 9 hours of professional development to teachers, as well as on-going assistance via on-site and remote support in order to establish a permanent culture of caring, philanthropy and involvement. Our annually updated curriculum includes a step by step guide for teachers as well as supplemental lessons and web based content and tools. Lessons are provided across all subject areas and are linked to New York State learning standards and nationally recognized McCrel standards. We also provide penny harvesting tools for each student, “penny logistics”, i.e. we transport the coins and turn them into cash for grant making, and grants administration to each school. The funds we are seeking partially fund the costs associated with producing and distributing the Penny Harvest Kits (curriculum) and training to participating schools.
