Grayson County Middle School staff and students, along with H. W. Wilkey students, collected enough pennies to present Salvation Army representatives with a $750 check on December 18.
Representative Tracy Dennison was present at GCMS on that day, to receive a check for money that had been tallied up so far.
According to GCMS Social Studies Teacher Mr. Rob Kaercher, at the time of the presentation, pennies were still being delivered in. An estimated guess was there were between 50-100,000 pennies collected.
Mr. K, as his peers call him, explained the kids studied about the Salvation Army in a lesson plan (taught by GCMS teacher Gwen Franich), and all decided they wanted to chip in to help other kids their age.
“We obtained videos about what the Salvation Army does,” Mr. K mentioned. “Gwen Franich taught it in a lesson plan. We all thought they were at an age to start accepting responsibilities for others. There is more to life than worrying about what you have under the tree, others are worried about having food on the table for the next day. They have a tendency as youngsters to think only about items they are getting for Christmas. We thought this would be a good chance for them to help someone else.”
Students also learned the proper formula on how to weigh pennies to reach a total dollar amount.
Mr. K gave a breakdown on how the final amount was calculated.
“It was also taught as a math lesson,” Mr. K. said. “This was an entirely new project for us this year. A penny weighs a tenth of an ounce. There are 16 ounces in a pound. We had to weigh pennies to see how much the pennies weigh, then you multiply that by 16, divide by one-tenth and that gives you the number of pennies. Divide that by 100, and it gives you the number of dollars. Different year pennies weigh different amounts.”
With Team Six students and teachers sponsoring the project, the kids were set to put their mission into action.
Word spread quickly of the youth’s desire to help others. An email was sent out by Kaercher to notify all teachers about the project.
Grayson County Director of District-Wide Services Charlie Crain donated a gallon jug of pennies; GCMS staff, students and families started saving pennies and H.W. Wilkey Elementary Second-Grade Teacher Patty Holleran donated several gallon bags of pennies.
“They really did a great job,” Mr. K. suggested. “Some of the parents even showed up.”
When the wheelbarrow full of pennies was brought out for all to see, on December 18, the crowd was taken aback at the sight.
“It was sort of like someone lit up a Christmas tree,” Mr. K. described, “and everyone goes ooh. It was like how people react when fireworks go off. Lots of people helped to make this a reality. They have just reaffirmed what I already knew. When you ask people in Grayson County for help, they really come through.”
Also present to receive the check were Salvation Army representatives Angie Jones and Faye Critchelow.
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