Dear Parents of J.H. McGaugh,
We are delighted to share with you that our students will once again participate in a Pennies for Peace campaign from now until June 1st (last year McGaugh students raised $1,565.87). Pennies for Peace is a service-learning program designed to broaden our students' cultural horizons while teaching them about their capacities as philanthropists – one penny at a time.
Pennies for Peace is a program of Central Asia Institute (CAI), founded by Greg Mortenson – author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Three Cups of Tea. CAI is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that promotes and provides community-based education and literacy programs, especially for girls, in remote mountain regions of Central Asia. Founded in 1996, CAI has built, to date, nearly 100 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which serve more than 28,000 students – over 14,000 of whom are girls.
How can a penny bring peace? It doesn't buy much in our community. However, in the villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan, a penny can buy a pencil, start an education, and transform a life. In a region where terrorist organizations recruit uneducated, illiterate children, that pencil can empower a child to read, write, and learn. The Pennies for Peace program goal is to encourage our students, who are ultimately our future leaders, to learn the value of philanthropy by collecting pennies for global peace.
Our students will join tens of thousands of students around the world who are participating in the Pennies for Peace program and who are working together to become members of a global family dedicated to peace.
Every student that visits the Media Center from Monday, December 14th – Friday, January 8th, will view a video by the CAI, which introduces Greg Mortensen and the children of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and even presents the very first school built. Many students will also hear the book entitled Listen to the Wind, a child friendly picture book version of Three Cups of Tea. Containers to hold the Pennies for Peace (or Change for Change if the children would like to bring in silver coins!) will be placed in many classrooms, and a large container is located in the Media Center.
If you have any questions about our Pennies for Peace campaign, please feel free to contact Karen Ferretti at KFerretti@losal.org. Our students are eagerly looking forward to this new adventure!
