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Today Mayor Michael Bloomberg furthered his pledge that New York City would lead the way in answering President Obama’s call for the nation to embrace a new era of service. He unveiled ‘NYC Service’ during a press conference and called on all of the city including schools to pursue service. Common Cents is one of the five educational partners of NYC Service including Children for Children, City Year, The League and Global Kids, Inc to work within the public school system. “I applaud Mayor Bloomberg for asking all New Yorkers – including children! -- to answer our President’s call for greater service and volunteerism in America” says Executive Director Teddy Gross. “As an organization that has championed for twenty years the voices of children, we are excited to be a partner in this bold initiative. We hope to work closely with educators throughout the city and our partners to sustainably expand service-learning to all NYC schools.” Common Cents is an educational organization that has created the world’s only network of child-run community foundations. At work inside 1,000 schools, many in disadvantaged neighborhoods in New York City and select sites around the country, Common Cents delivers the award-winning Penny Harvest program. Students – mainly in elementary schools – literally build their own charitable bank account by collecting pennies throughout their neighborhoods. Afterwards, they spend weeks discussing and debating which organizations they want to support with a grant and/or service project. Children collect. Children decide. In order to provide a meaningful service-learning experience for students, Common Cents trains an educator in each school on Penny Harvest best practices, supplies curriculum and program tools, and provides logistical and programmatic support all at no cost to the schools. To date, the combined effort of these school foundations have raised $6.8 million from the forgotten coins that collect in jars, pockets and on the streets of New York. The children donate the funds to community groups they designate. The program has touched the lives of countless New Yorkers young and old and connected generations through generosity and giving. The Penny Harvest teaches children they can make a difference and prepares them to be active and productive members of their communities. It improves school culture, reinforces academic subject matter; and it infuses communities with small grants that meet big needs. We look forward to this new and vibrant era where children and adults in New York and across the country make service a part of their daily lives. To learn more about how Common Cents is responding to this initiative, sign up for our e-newsletter. To learn more about NYC Service, visit www.nyc.gov/service  |
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