Pennies for Peace

Pennies for Peace is a school-based fundraising and cross-cultural education program sponsored by the Central Asia Institute (CAI). Rather than operating as a conventional consumer brand, it functions as a charitable program and educational campaign: students in the United States collect small-denomination coins, learn about communities in the developing world, and contribute to educational infrastructure and school supplies for children in remote parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The initiative began in 1995 at Westside Elementary School in River Falls, Wisconsin. Elementary school teachers Susy Eisele and Sandy Heikkila were inspired by a presentation from Greg Mortenson describing the difficult conditions faced by children in Korphe, Pakistan. They organized an initial collection under the name “Pennies for Pakistan.” The first effort raised $620 in pennies, which helped pay for materials associated with building a school in Korphe. The project connected a very small individual contribution with a concrete educational outcome, providing the model for the later national program. The program’s purpose extended beyond collecting money. It was designed to help students understand life in other countries, encourage empathy and cross-cultural awareness, and demonstrate that children could participate in philanthropy. Collections were presented as a practical way to fund basic educational needs, including paper, pencils, books, uniforms, desks, and other school materials. Through this approach, Pennies for Peace linked classroom learning with charitable action and positioned education as a means of promoting peace. After its early Wisconsin origins, the initiative was broadened through CAI and became known as Pennies for Peace. Greg Mortenson, who later served as CAI’s executive director, helped launch and expand the program. Schools across the United States participated, and the program became associated with coin drives, educational materials, and efforts to introduce American students to the experiences of children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The program received the 1997 Richard Lewandowski Memorial Award for Humanitarian Activities. The award was presented by the Wisconsin Education Association Council to Westside Elementary, recognizing the school’s humanitarian contribution. By 2012, Pennies for Peace reported that more than 700 schools had participated and that the initiative had collected over 16 million pennies, described as approximately $160,000. These figures illustrate the program’s emphasis on aggregating many small donations rather than seeking large individual gifts. Pennies for Peace occupies an unusual position in the CAI portfolio because its principal audience is schoolchildren and educators in the United States, while its intended beneficiaries are students and schools in underserved communities abroad. Its identity is therefore built around participation, educational storytelling, and symbolic use of the penny rather than around products or commercial services. Current operating status, present-day fundraising totals, and the continuing availability of its website are not established by the supplied reference material.

Pennies for Peace originated in 1995 at Westside Elementary School in River Falls, Wisconsin. Teachers Susy Eisele and Sandy Heikkila organized the effort after hearing Greg Mortenson speak about the severe educational challenges experienced by children in Korphe, Pakistan. The original project was called Pennies for Pakistan and used a simple coin drive to make overseas humanitarian giving understandable and accessible to elementary-school students. The first collection raised $620 in pennies. According to the program's account, these funds helped pay for materials used in building a school in Korphe. The significance of the project lay not only in the amount collected but also in its educational method: students could see how many small contributions could be combined to support a specific community need. The initiative also introduced a cross-cultural component, encouraging participants to learn about children whose daily circumstances differed substantially from their own. In the following years, the effort was associated with the Central Asia Institute and expanded beyond its original Pakistan-focused name. Greg Mortenson, who became CAI's executive director, helped launch Pennies for Peace as a broader program. Its objectives included raising money for educational projects and teaching American students that they could act as philanthropists. The program described its supported needs in practical terms, such as paper, pencils, books, uniforms, desks, and other basic resources for schools in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pennies for Peace was recognized in 1997 when the Wisconsin Education Association Council presented Westside Elementary with the Richard Lewandowski Memorial Award for Humanitarian Activities. This recognition linked the local school project with a wider conception of student-led humanitarian work. The initiative subsequently spread to schools around the United States. Its activities combined classroom discussion, awareness of the developing world, and penny collection. The penny served both as a fundraising unit and as a communication device: students were encouraged to understand that modest personal contributions could collectively finance useful educational support. The program thus operated as an educational campaign as much as a donation mechanism. By 2012, Pennies for Peace reported involvement from more than 700 United States schools and the collection of over 16 million pennies, valued at approximately $160,000. The reported total illustrates the cumulative scale of the program and its reliance on broad participation. The supplied sources do not establish whether the program remains active at the same scale, whether its website is currently maintained, or whether its organizational structure has changed. No commercial product portfolio, public-company listing, or independently documented current leadership roster is identified in the available material.

• 2012

  Reported scale exceeds 16 million pennies

  [1]Pennies for Peaceen.wikipedia.org

  Pennies for Peace reported participation by more than 700 schools and cumulative collections exceeding 16 million pennies, or approximately $160,000.

• 1997

  Humanitarian award presented to Westside Elementary

  [1]Pennies for Peaceen.wikipedia.org

  The Wisconsin Education Association Council awarded Westside Elementary the Richard Lewandowski Memorial Award for Humanitarian Activities.

• 1995

  Program founded as Pennies for Pakistan

  [1]Pennies for Peaceen.wikipedia.org

  Susy Eisele and Sandy Heikkila began a penny-collection project at Westside Elementary School in River Falls, Wisconsin, after hearing Greg Mortenson describe educational conditions in Korphe, Pakistan.

• 1995

  Initial collection raises $620

  [1]Pennies for Peaceen.wikipedia.org

  The first school-based collection raised $620 in pennies, helping fund materials for a school in Korphe, Pakistan.

A child-centered educational philanthropy program that turns small school donations into support for overseas education while encouraging cross-cultural understanding and civic participation.

• 1995Pennies for Pakistan

  United States · Pakistan

  The original school penny drive at Westside Elementary invited students to collect coins to help provide materials for a school in Korphe, Pakistan. It established the participatory and cross-cultural model later used by Pennies for Peace.

  Outcome. The first effort raised $620 and supported materials associated with construction of a school in Korphe.

  Source
• Pennies for Peace school fundraising program

  United States · Pakistan · Afghanistan

  The expanded program used school coin collections and educational activities to raise funds for basic supplies and educational projects while teaching students about communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

  Outcome. By 2012, the program reported involvement from more than 700 schools and collections of over 16 million pennies.

  Source

• 2012

  Pennies for Peace reports participation by more than 700 schools[1]Pennies for Peaceen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  By 2012, the program reported collecting more than 16 million pennies, equivalent to approximately $160,000, through participation by over 700 schools in the United States.

• 1997

  Pennies for Peace receives the Richard Lewandowski Memorial Award for Humanitarian Activities[1]Pennies for Peaceen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Westside Elementary School received the Wisconsin Education Association Council's humanitarian award in recognition of the initiative that originated there.

1. 1Pennies for Peaceen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Pennies for Peace official websitepenniesforpeace.org