10 Feb 2005
In Seven Years, Students Have Donated $214,000 to Non-Profit Agencies
DALLAS-Pennies may add up to dollars, but in the case of the pocket change collected over the past seven years by the Dallas Independent School District students, the dollars have added to a sum greater than $214,000.
This year, students participating in the Common Cents project donated $58,000 of that sum to local nonprofit organizations at a news conference Thursday, Feb. 10. The money was raised by 50 schools during the Common Cents coin-collection campaign.
Interim Superintendent Larry Groppel was on hand at the event as the students presented 83 checks to representatives from more than 31 nonprofit organizations.
Groppel said the Common Cents project is more than a coin-collection campaign because it encourages good citizenship and promotes social responsibility in schoolchildren.
"We are very proud that our students have taken such an interest in helping others. School is not only a place where you receive an education, it is also where you learn to become a caring and responsible citizen," Groppel said. "Common Cents provides our students the opportunity to make a difference in their communities, one penny at a time."
Of the funds awarded this year to nonprofit organizations, Promise House received the most money, totaling $6,482.02. The agency works to raise the self-esteem of at-risk young people and helps them identify and develop their gifts and talents.
Students at nine schools collected more than $2,000. Thomas L. Marsalis Elementary students raised $5,183.64. Nathaniel Hawthorne Elementary students raised $3,303.85; Greiner Middle School students raised $3,140.47; students at Raul Quintanilla Middle School raised $2,870.92; Casa View Elementary students raised $2,741.81; Cesar Chavez students raised $2,400.00; Urban Park Elementary students raised $2,152.50; Rosemont Elementary students raised $2,191.50; and Sidney Lanier Elementary students raised $2,033.14.
The Common Cents project was introduced to district students in 1998 by longtime Dallas philanthropist Louise Gartner. Starting with fewer than 10 schools that first year, students raised $8,100. Over the five-year history of the program, about 129 nonprofit organizations have received more than $214,000.
Gartner complimented the students for their continued commitment to the project and this year's successful coin collection drive. She said the students' efforts were a testimony to the power of philanthropy and its force that changes lives.
"The Common Cents project proves that children working together with a philanthropic spirit are empowered to make a substantial contribution to their community," she said. "By participating in the project, students at a young age learn they have the resources to reach out to the community."
Designed to ignite a passion for philanthropy, the Common Cents project starts in the fall with an orientation for participants. The orientation outlines the mission, objectives and responsibilities of the program. This includes learning the importance of a community's commitment to philanthropy and the rewards of gift giving. The coin collection follows the orientation.
Once the money, mostly coins, is collected, roundtable participants counted literally barrels of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. While coins are being tallied, a request for proposals is issued to alert the nonprofit community about the available funds.
All proposals received by the deadline were reviewed and discussed by each of the participating schools that raised at least $1,000. Schools that collected less than a $1,000 were partnered together in a joint roundtable discussion.
The winning proposals were selected through consensus reached in the roundtable discussions. The students awarding the grants invited the winning nonprofit organizations to the news conference, the culminating event of the Common Cents campaign.
Below is a list of the schools followed by the non-profit organizations selected by the students to be the recipients of the funds raised in this year's Common Cents campaign.
COMMON CENTS AWARDS:
Maya Angelou High School, $1,001.60
Heroes for Children
Genesis Women's Shelter
James Bowie Elementary, $1,200.00
Our Neighbor's Closet
AVANCE
Casa View Elementary, $2,741.81
Nexus
White Rock Center of Hope
Cesar Chavez Learning Center, $2,400.00
Interfaith Housing Coalition
Exodus Ministries, Inc.
Reconciliation Outreach
Dallas Environmental Science Academy, $1,205.27
American Red Cross (Tsunami Relief)
Hope Cottage
Leukemia Association of North Central Texas
Paul L. Dunbar Learning Center, $1,803.50
Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center
Family Gateway
Amelia Earhart Learning Center $1,118.45
World Missionary Evangelism
W.E. Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy, $3,140.47
Camp Summit
Promise House
Leukemia Association
Victims Outreach
Wednesday's Child
Nathaniel Hawthorne Elementary, $3,303.85
Salvation Army
Reading Is FUNdamental
Child Abuse Prevention Center
American Cancer Society
Dallas Life Foundation
Dallas-CASA
Margaret B. Henderson Elementary, $1,536.44
Human Rights Initiative
Dallas-CASA
Launching A Dream
Sharing Life Community Outreach
O.W. Holmes Middle, $1,343.25
Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center
Oak Cliff Churches for Emergency Aid
AIDS Services
Sam Houston Elementary, $1,028.28
Family Gateway
Jonathan's Place
Anson Jones Elementary, $1,044.63
American Red Cross (Tsunami Relief)
Kleberg Elementary, , $1,001.51
Dallas-CASA
Sidney Lanier Center for Expressive Arts, , $2,033.14
American Red Cross (Tsunami Relief)
SPCA
Johnathan's Place /Kids Net
.H. Macon Elementary, , $1,369.50
Child Abuse Prevention Center
Promise House
SPCA
Dallas Life Foundation
Thomas L. Marsalis Elementary, , $5,183.64
American Red Cross (Tsunami Relief)
Child Abuse Prevention Center
Leukemia Association of North Central Texas
Promise House
Wednesday's Child
Ronald E. McNair Elementary, $1,046.73
American Red Cross
Promise House
George Peabody Elementary,, $1,374.59
Child Abuse Prevention Center
Low Birthweight Development
SPCA
American Red Cross
Family Gateway
K.B. Polk Center for Academically Talented & Gifted, $1,082.48
Dallas-CASA
SPCA
Raul Quintanilla Sr. Middle, $2,870.92
Genesis Women's Shelter
Samaritan Inn
John H. Reagan Elementary,, $1,082.11
AVANCE-Dallas
Communities In Schools
Oak Cliff Churches for Emergency Aid
Dallas Concilio
Leukemia and Lymphoma
Rosemont Elementary School, $2,191.50
Camp Summit
Phoenix Project
Skyline High School,, $1,343.98
Bryan's House of Dallas
Thomas Tolbert Elementary,, $1,310.60
American Diabetes Association
Mark Twain Fundamental Vanguard,, $1,000.00
American Red Cross
American Cancer Society
Oak Cliff Churches for Emergency Aid
Leukemia and Lymphoma
Urban Park Elementary,, $1,076.25
Promise House
Salvation Army
Walnut Hill Elementary,, $1,104.65
Promise House
Winnetka Elementary, $1,012.15
A.R.T.S. for People
Ignacio Zaragoza Elementary, $1,399.13
Jonathan's Place
Joint Roundtable Schools:
Nathan Adams Elementary, J.J. Rhoads Learning Center, R.C. Burleson Elementary, B.F. Darrell Elementary, M.T. Reilly Elementary, David W. Carter High, S.S. Conner Elementary, Gilbert Cuellar Elementary, Whitney M. Young Elementary, W.H. Gaston Middle, Tom C. Gooch Elementary, D.A. Hulcy Middle, Umphrey Lee Elementary, Stevens Park Elementary, Franklin D. Roosevelt High School, School of Business and Management at Townview, T.W. Browne Middle School, Lincoln Humanities Humanities/Communications Magnet, Edna Rowe Elementary, Priscilla L. Tyler Learning Center, Sarah Zumwalt Middle
$6,042.00
American Cancer Society
American Red Cross (Tsunami Relief)
AVANCE
Nonprofit Organizations that benefit from the coin collection:
A.R.T.S. for People, AIDS Services, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, American Red Cross, AVANCE Dallas, Bryan's House, Camp Summit, Child Abuse Prevention Center, Communities In Schools, Dallas CASA, Dallas Concilio, Dallas Life Foundation, Exodus Ministries, Inc., Family Gateway, Genesis Women's Shelter, Heroes for Children, Hope Cottage, Human Rights Initiative, Interfaith Housing Coalition, Jonathan's Place, Launching a Dream, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Leukemia Association of North Central Texas, Low Birthweight Development, Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, Nexus, Oak Cliff Churches for Emergency Aid, Our Neighbor's Closet, Reading is FUNdamental, Reconciliation Outreach, Salvation Army, Samaritan Inn, Sharing Life Community Outreach, SPCA, Victims Outreach, Wednesday's Child, White Rock Center of Hope, World Missionary Evangelism, Phoenix Project and Promise House.