FRA International Project:  

Pennies for Peace^™

FRA is participating in the Pennies for Peace program developed by Greg Mortenson. This is a service-learning program designed to promote  literacy and broaden students' cultural horizons. The program educates students about the world beyond their experience and shows them that they can make a positive impact on a global scale - one penny at a time.

Pennies for Peace
c/o Florida Reading Association
Attn: Peggy Van Voorhis
5350 Chippendale Circle
Ft. Myers, FL 33919

Thank you to everyone who is involved with this project. Please continue to contact us so we can share your successes. We love hearing from you and learning about your wonderful ideas!  For more information concerning this project contact:
peggy.vanvoorhis@gmail.com or vposey@mail.barry.edu

Photo courtesy of Central Asia Institute

Great News! We recently heard that President Obama is donating a portion of his Nobel Peace Prize money to Greg Mortenson’s organization – the Central Asia Institute. We think this is exciting and validates our values. Greg also has written a new, fascinating book Stones into Schools, with the focus on Afghanistan.

In review, Greg is continuing to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan – primarily girls’ schools and has built 130! His belief is that if girls are educated they can provide for their families and persuade their sons not to enter the jihadist movement. He also firmly believes that education builds tolerance and the possibility for peace. If you would like to know more about Pennies for Peace please go to www.penniesforpeace.org.  The site is spectacular and includes a K-12 curriculum, provided in “The Toolkit” section.

The Pennies for Peace project is going very well. We have heard from many Councils and schools who are involved. If you would like to become involved you may get some ideas from the projects listed  below. Please continue to keep in touch so we can share your ideas and help the project to grow. A huge thank you to all of you who are involved!

• DeLaura Middle School in Satellite, FL.
  Chris Clark, Lucy Casey and Tina Rice are heading the initiative. Students are reading the young adult version of Three Cups of Tea during homeroom school wide and every classroom is also collecting pennies. SAC paid for the books. They have collected close to $300!

• The Pinellas Reading Council has sent a donation to FRA for Pennies for Peace and they continue to promote interest and give books to schools. Sent by Margaret Adams

• The Palm Beach County Reading Council has involved Reading Coaches and some have introduced it at their schools. They accept donations at Reading Council meetings. Sent by Darlene Staley

• St. Lucie County’s project is being chaired by Joanne Ramsey who is spearheading the project at her school, F.K. Sweet Elementary. They already have some donations and on April 25th they will have their inaugural FAMILY READING FESTIVAL at the St. Lucie Mets stadium and incorporate Pennies for Peace. Sounds exciting! Sent by Debbie Remington.

• Lee County: With support from schools, the Ft. Myers community and FRA we have collected $350 by a variety of methods. Cypress Lake Middle School and Cypress Lake High School – both Magnet Schools for the Arts – have been very involved with Pennies for Peace. We have been collaborating with Barnes and Noble in fundraising and sponsoring events promoting Pennies for Peace. CLHS’s Honor Society did an art project with children at our event and CLMS created beautiful clay tea cups which were sold at a silent auction during their event. Thank you to Ava Roeder, Dana Thomas and Carolyn Gora!

• Other schools are also involved in projects. FRA has been speaking in schools and sharing the videos from the Pennies for Peace site to build motivation.

• We have also recently heard that Florida IB schools are involved with Pennies for Peace.

Please forgive us if we have forgotten to mention something you are doing! Thank you so much for your
efforts and please continue to share and keep in touch.

For more information about FRA please contact:
Florida Reading Association at
FRA Membership
11909 92nd Way N.
Largo, FL 33773

Copyright 2008 - Florida Reading Association