Saint Patrick Catholic School:
Million Pennies for Haiti Project
In the spirit of “SERVICE”, the theme of Catholic Schools Week 2009, the students, faculty, and staff of Saint Patrick Catholic School in Norfolk, Virginia, were excited to announce the launch of a school-wide service project they call, One Million Pennies for Haiti. All grades Pre-K through eight are working hard to earn pennies for Maison Fortune Orphanage/School in Hinche, Haiti and St. Gabriel School supported by Sacred Heart Parish. This project has the potential to earn $10,000 which will go a very long way to help the children of Haiti.
Each homeroom has been given a container in which to collect their pennies. A weekly count and tally is done in each room by the students and then the coins are brought to the giant pennies container which proudly sits in the lobby of our school. Together we are watching our pennies grow. We began in February, 2009 and near the end of 2009 we had surpassed the half-million mark !!!!!! Almost half way there in such a short period of time.
Following the lead of St. Margaret School in Maryland, we hope to involve the media, a local bank, and our entire community in this effort. You can help by beginning to save your pennies. One of the students at Saint Patrick Catholic School will be chosen, through a raffle system, to win the opportunity to throw in the millionth coin! Please join us as we work together to make our world a better place, one penny at a time.
A few notes about Haiti:
Haiti is 800 miles off the coast of southeastern Florida. It is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Poverty there overwhelms the senses and violates our understanding of human dignity.
Despite the sometimes insurmountable struggle of the Haitian people and their lack of material goods, Haitians have an abundance of gifts that they so readily share with the world. Haitians lavishly share their love of life, of people and of relationships; they share the colorful lens through which they view life which is reflected in their music, art and dance. Most importantly Haitians share their lived experience of spirituality and a sense that God can and will take care of their needs. The world has much to learn from the Haitians’ sense of hope and joy.