A Favorite Charity: Pennies for Peace

If you’re like me, you do most of your charitable donations at the end of the year.  That’s when I review my financial results for the year and decide how much to donate and which causes to support.

One of my favorite charities is Pennies for Peace.

It was founded by Greg Mortenson who was nursed back to health by Pakistani villagers after a mountain climbing accident.  He promised to return to properly thank them.  He returned a year later and built a school.  He then went on to build dozens of schools for boys and girls in rural Afghanistan and Pakistan.  His fascinating story is detailed in his book, Three Cups of Tea.  I hope this man one day receives the Nobel Peace Prize.

My six-year old son learned about Pennies for Peace through his Montessori kindergarten.  After the official school program ended, he wanted to continue collecting his coins for the cause.  He liked the idea that every penny collected would buy a pencil for a child.  For his birthday party this year, instead of presents, we asked that the children bring their pennies.  We received buckets of pennies.  We added to the pile throughout the year.  At the end of year, we counted and wrapped them.

The photo at the top of the page is the resulting pile of 47 rolls of pennies.   By “we” I mean he counted and wrapped a small pile.  I ended up doing most of it, but hey, do you really expect a six-year old to count 2,350 pennies?  I’m happy that he is interested in giving his pennies and to have the opportunity to talk with him about childen who live in other parts of the world.

I first heard about this organization on a visit to Yellowstone National Park.  The coffee shop where we breakfasted was staffed by women of a certain age.  They were mostly retired and spent their summers in the park, working a bit, but mostly enjoying the idyllic surroundings.  One of the women happened to be Greg Mortenson’s mother.  Her co-worker told us Greg’s story and recommended the book.  It wasn’t until I returned home and read it that I realized that the woman who had poured my coffee every morning was a retired school principal with a PhD in Education who had raised her children while living on several continents.  She was too modest to promote her son’s good works, but I’ll happily recommend it.

Pennies for Peace, through its parent organization, the Central Asian Institute, receives the Charity Navigator’s highest rating, meaning that most of the money collected actually goes to doing good work (and not just spent on more fundraising).

Whichever charities you choose to support, do it before the year ends to claim it as a tax deduction for this year.

Tags: Greg Mortenson, Pennies for Peace, teaching children charity