Pennies for Peace is a program sponsored by Central Asia Institute, in which school children in the United States raise pennies to help fund CAI's educational projects. The program focuses on raising cross-cultural awareness through education to promote peace. Pennies for Peace was founded in 1995 as “ Pennies for Pakistan”. The founders were two elementary school teachers, Susy Eisele and Sandy Heikkila, of the Westside Elementary School of

River Falls, Wisconsin River Falls is a city in Pierce and St. Croix counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is adjacent to the Town of River Falls in Pierce County and the Town of Kinnickinnic in St. Croix County. River Falls is the most populous city in Pierc ...

, USA. They had been inspired by a talk given by Greg Mortenson on the harsh conditions he witnessed for all children in Korphe, Pakistan. The original effort raised $620 in pennies, which helped pay for materials to build a school in Korphe. The program was awarded the 1997 Richard Lewandowski Memorial Award for Humanitarian Activities, which was presented to Westside Elementary by the

Wisconsin Education Association Council The Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) is an education Public-sector trade union representing the public policy, labor and professional interests of its members. It is affiliated with the National Education Association. Its headquart ...

. ''Pennies for Peace'' was launched by CAI executive director Greg Mortenson to help broaden students' awareness of the developing world, and teach them about their capacities to be philanthropists by raising funds to cover costs of such as paper, pencils, books, uniforms and desks for students in remote northern

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. By 2012, Pennies for Peace had raised over 16 million pennies generated by more than 700 schools across the United States.

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.penniesforpeace.org Humanitarian aid Non-profit organizations based in Montana Central Asia Organizations established in 1995