DISD Schoolchildren Learn Gift of Giving

27 Feb 2002

Common Cents Campaign Helps Local Non-profit Organizations

DALLAS–Students from more than 30 Dallas Independent School District campuses on Wednesday, February 27, presented more than $23,000 to almost 30 non-profit organizations during a morning news conference.

Students walked to the front of the room one at a time. A fifth grader from J. H. Reagan Elementary with checks totaling about $1,400; a sixth grader from Nathaniel Hawthorne Elementary with more than $2,000 in checks; a high school student from David W. Carter presented $8,000. One by one students continued to walk to the front of the room until the last penny of $23,605.19 was given away. The money was raised by 33 schools for the Common Cents project, a coin-collection campaign.

Checks from the money, collected mostly in coins, were presented to representatives from 28 non-profit organizations. A roundtable of students selected the agencies based on proposals submitted to them in January.

Kirsten Brew was a member of a joint roundtable of 17 schools. She represented the students at the news conference and presented checks to 17 organizations, totaling $8,045.08.

"Common Cents has been a great learning experience," the Carter High sophomore said. "We didn't compete against each other. Instead, we worked hard to collect coins to help meet the needs of the communities around our schools."

General Superintendent Mike Moses joined the students to express his appreciation of them and their participation in the Common Cents project. He said the students were outstanding, and the project is "an amazing philanthropic program."

"Common Cents teaches our students about leadership, finance, organization, communication and most of all about caring," Moses said. "The project introduces our students to the wonderful rewards of the gift of giving. It is a good feeling for them to know that they were able to help someone else. It is a feeling we don't want them to ever lose as they become older."

After the last check was given out, a special presentation was made by the students to Louise Gartner. It was four years ago when Gartner, a Dallas resident, introduced Common Cents to DISD schoolchildren. Several years ago, Gartner said she witnessed the positive impact the Common Cents project had on the children in New York City.

"The power of philanthropy changes lives for both the donor and the recipient," Gartner said. "Common Cents puts the children in charge. They collect and distribute the money they raised. This program is all about children saving their pennies and harnessing their community's economic power to improve life."

When the program began in 1998, fewer than 10 schools participated. That year the students raised $8,100. Just four years later, school participation has risen to 33. To date, students have donated more than $66,000 to 55 non-profit organizations.

Of the funds awarded this year, students at three schools collected more than $2,000. Students at Louise Kahn Elementary School collected $2,427.09; students collected $2,360.71 at Nathaniel Hawthorne Elementary; and elementary students at T.L. Marsalis collected $2,297.70.

The Common Cents project is the second coin-collection campaign DISD students have participated in this school year. After the national tragedy on September 11, 2001, students raised $68,177.87 to show their support for the families of the victims. The funds were donated to various organizations with a majority of the money going to the American Red Cross Relief Fund.

Attached is a list of the organizations selected by the students who participated in the Common Cents project.

oLouise Kahn Elementary: $2,427.09

Senior Citizens of Greater Dallas and Family Gateway

oNathaniel Hawthorne Elementary: $2,360.71

Visiting Nurse Association, EXCAP, Dallas Challenge and Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol/Drug Abuse

oT.L. Marsalis Elementary: $2,297.70

American Red Cross, Bethlehem Foundation and American Diabetes Foundation

oSarah Zumwalt Middle School: $1,500

Uganda Children's Orphanage

oJ.H. Reagan Elementary: $1,414.81

AVANCE, American Red Cross and Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol/Drug Abuse

oRonald McNair Elementary: $1,285.26

American Red Cross

oCasa View Elementary: $1,262.73

White Rock Center of Hope

oObadiah Knight Elementary: $1,258.02

Horas Alegres Pre-School

oB.H. Macon Elementary: $1,210.69

Pleasant Grove Library, Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol/Drug Abuse, American Red Cross

oW.B. Miller Elementary: $1,025.70

Bethlehem Foundation and Promise House

oGeorge Peabody Elementary: $1,017.40

Our Neighbor's Closet, Irwindell Methodist Church

oJoint Roundtable Schools: $8,045.08

Bethlehem Foundation, Oak Cliff Churches for Emergency Aid, Central Dallas Ministries, Trinity Works, American Red Cross, Clean South Dallas, Visiting Nurse Association, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Lakewest Head Start, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Head Start-Socorro Gonzales, HIV Prevention & Consulting, Malone & Associates and Head Start Oak Cliff