In the 2008-2009 year, the students officially harvested 3.8 million pennies, or $38,996.96, for local charities through the Young Philanthropists Foundation’s Penny Harvest. In its third year, the Penny Harvest is in 44 elementary, middle, and high schools across Colorado

For a list of organizations funded:

For a list of participating schools:

For more about the 2008-9 harvest:

To sign up for the 2009-10 harvest:

ABOUT THE PENNY HARVEST

The Penny Harvest was born more than 17 years ago out of one child’s desire to help the homeless. Since its inception it has grown to include more than 500,000 students in 900 schools in New York City, Albany, Seattle, Nashville, Florida and Colorado. In the past 17 years, Penny Harvest students have given away more than $6 Million to nonprofits and contributed more than half a million service hours to their local communities.

The guiding principle of the Penny Harvest is that kids make all of the decisions and are empowered to make an impact on their communities. They learn leadership, teamwork, and communication skills and gain a greater understanding of their classmates, their schools, and their communities.

The Penny Harvest is a service-learning program designed around the school calendar. It is broken into four phases:

Phase 1, Gathering Pennies, takes place in the fall, connecting students with their community, building relationships, and identifying need, by collecting idle pennies from friends and neighbors. One hundred percent of the funds collected are then utilized in Phase 2, The Philanthropy Roundtable.

Phase 2, Philanthropy Roundtable, challenges students to use the Penny Harvest funds, $1,000 per school, to make grants to non-profit organizations of their choice. Students learn to asses and prioritize community needs and ultimately decide how their money can best make a difference.

Phase 3, Neighborhood Service, allows students to go beyond grant making to improve their communities. Schools partner with nonprofits to learn more about specific needs, then plan and execute service projects to meet those needs.

Phase 4, Celebration, takes place at the end of the year and gives students the opportunity to celebrate and reflect on their experiences.

To find out more about the Penny Harvest:

Penny Harvest Field at Rockefeller Center

View the Today Show Segment: Penny Harvest on the PlazaP