The ‘crop’ those Gatewood Elementary students (and others) helped “harvest” is now out in the world, supporting good work. From Gatewood teacher Darren Radu:

Once again this year, kids from all across the school worked together to bring in close to 400 pounds of pennies (and other coins) as part of the 2011 Penny Harvest. We shipped our bags of coins to the local Penny Harvest offices on Thursday.

In the New Year, we will convene a Philanthropy Roundtable, where students from each grade will research organizations working for justice in the community, country, and world, and determine which organizations are in most need of support. The Philanthropy Roundtable will then allocate grant funds from the pennies raised to these organizations. One of the Roundtable’s most important criteria is ‘leverage per dollar’ – the Philanthropists use their research to allocate funds in a way that works most effectively to make a positive difference in the world. Last year, Gatewood students awarded Penny Harvest grants to Save the Children Japan, Southwest Boys and Girls Clubs, and the Nature Consortium. Students weighed the impact of their decisions and made the final call on where to send the money.

The attached photo shows some of our many ‘harvesters’ with a few of the 30-pound bags they filled.

You can find out more about the Penny Harvest here:

Much ‘Gator Gratitude’ goes out to our Gatewood neighbors, families, and friends, for supporting this worthwhile work!