Lura A. White Elementary School Pennies for Peace Campaign: May 2011

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Our Fundraising Campaign

Our campaign wound down last week and Fidelity Bank recounted all of our coins for us. We raised $175 for the Central Asia Institute!

In the next two weeks we'll be finishing up our comparison/contrast essays and writing about what we learned through Pennies for Peace.

We are still working on getting Betsy Sawyer to come to our school to speak to all the students about Pages for Peace, the big book in which the students' collages will appear.

Lastly, if we have time, we will be putting together a PowerPoint presentation on our Pennies for Peace journey to present to the school.

Thank you to everyone who gave pennies (and some nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollars) that we can send to CAI in the form of a check for the education of children halfway around the world.

A special "thank you" to Teacher Kristen Lynch for her hard work and patience, and to LAW Principal Patricia Fitzgerald for her wholehearted support.

Look for a summary here in the coming days and weeks, before the end of the school year.

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A Note for Parents

Some of you may have read about or seen the piece on "60 Minutes" in which a charity watchdog group and others express doubts about many of author and Central Asia Institute Founder Greg Mortenson's claims about his experiences and charity work.

Whether or not Mortenson is a totally honest and forthright person, what I can say from my perspective as the coordinator of this program in our school, is that the curriculum and work of our students has been totally worthwhile and a great learning experience for all.

Although some have expressed doubt as to the validity of all of Mortenson's claims, he has done a lot of good and difficult work, and we can hold onto that and all of the accomplishments of our students, who have been learning a lot about themselves and other cultures.

On April 26, I received a lovely letter from Mortenson in which he explains his and the CAI's perspective. He also wrote that he has been experiencing health problems for nearly two years, and that he will soon be undergoing surgery for a hole in his heart. Therefore, he has had to cancel a number of speaking engagements, including the one in Worcester that was schedule for May 3.

Click here to read about and see the "60 Minutes" video.

Here is the American Institute of Philanthropy's Report on the Central Asia Institute: Accountability Update

Click here for Mortenson's response.

About Pennies for Peace

The Pennies for Peace program is designed to help students broaden their cultural horizons and learn about their capacities as philanthropists. It 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. Our goal at LAW is to raise $600 in pennies--enough to pay a teacher's annual salary in Pakistan--by May 13. As student Caleb Callaluca put it in our thank-you letter to our corporate sponsor: "We are doing this because we believe that education is the key to global peace."