Letter I sent the School Principal to give background information:
Pennies for Peace Fundraiser (P4P) is a program of Central Asia Institute (CAI), founded by Greg Mortenson - renowned humanitarian, mountaineer and author of best seller book ‘Three Cups of Tea’. P4P teaches children the rewards of sharing and working together to bring hope and educational opportunities to children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. A penny in the United States is virtually worthless, but in Pakistan and Afghanistan a penny buys a pencil and opens the door to literacy. CAI promotes and provides community-based education and literacy programs, especially for girls, in remote mountain regions of Central Asia. Founded in 1996, CAI has built, to date, nearly 100 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which serve more than 28,000 students – over 14,000 of whom are girls.
How can a penny bring peace? It doesn’t buy much in our community. However, in the villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan, a penny can buy a pencil, start an education, and transform a life. In a region where terrorist organizations recruit uneducated, illiterate children, that pencil can empower a child to read, write, and learn. The Pennies for Peace program goal is to encourage our students, who are ultimately our future leaders, to learn the value of philanthropy by collecting pennies for global peace.
Our students will join tens of thousands of students around the world who are participating in the Pennies for Peace program and who are working together to become members of a global family dedicated to peace.
The Pennies for Peace Fundraiser Program will kick off with a small presentation from a parent/teacher who will talk about the program to the children. Then we will set out jars to collect only pennies all through the month of April (if any individual or business in the community is interested in helping out further, please contact XXX). We will place jars for the collection of pennies in all classrooms at the School. At the end of the month, we will take all the jars and convert them into a check that will be sent to the CAI. For more information, please check out www.penniesforpeace.org.
Greg Mortenson in the News: Greg Mortenson visits Fremont Mar 2009
http://pakusonline.com/ViewEntertainment.aspx?CategoryId=7895cf3f-b799-434c-ad5d-9a5df9cbda90&CategoryName=PakUS%20Events%20Reporter
MSNBC - NBC TODAY | January 21 2009
‘Three Cups of Tea’ a humanitarian tale | by
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28775441
USA Today | January 02 2009
‘Three Cups of Tea’ author finds new mountains to climb
https://www.ikat.org/2009/01/02/usa-today-jan-2009/