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Mooresville Intermediate students host 'Show Me a Million' fundraiser
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Published: November 27, 2009
Cent by cent, 22 sixth graders from Mooresville Intermediate are working their way toward raising $10,000 for their teachers and fellow classmates.
Shortly after the school year began in August, Kelli Greene's sixth grade math class kicked off their "Show me a Million!" project, collecting pennies from MIS students each week in the hopes of earning one million pennies – or $10,000 – by the end of the 2009-10 school year.
The students also hope to garner support from the community who can donate their pennies at Alexander Zachary Jewelers in downtown Mooresville or Brawley Seed Company on North Main Street.
Greene said the monies collected will be split in half at the end of the year. One half will assist MIS families who cannot afford field trips, and the other half will help teachers purchase classroom supplies for the next school year.
"One thing we've never done is see a million of one thing," said Greene, discussing why her students decided this would be their fundraiser.
Three days per week, students collect pennies from each grade level at MIS and add them to their mounting collection, tallying updated totals every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
With 69,142 pennies collected by Tuesday morning – the last day of penny collection before the Mooresville Graded School District dismissed for Thanksgiving break – the students still have a long way to go. But Greene said she and those 22 kids remain hopeful that they can reach their goal, even if a bit later than planned.
"What we're hoping to do is generate some help from the community," she said. "(Reaching one million pennies) may not happen by the end of the year as we had hoped, but we'll get there."
She also noted that the project is about more than fun and fundraising; it's about improving and reinforcing math skills.
Mentioning that the students are learning about measurements, weight, estimation, decimals, counting and scientific notation, Greene added that the kids are gaining "a knowledge of money" as well.
Sixth grader Tom McLelland said that education is something he enjoys about their "Show me a Million!" fundraiser.
"(This project) is really helpful to the school and us learning," he said.
Classmate Katie Szad agreed.
"I like it a lot. It's a really good project," she said. "It's just fun counting pennies."
Greene noted her students' enthusiasm for both the project and helping others.
"We've talked about the economy and I think they're proud to be part of this and knowing that they can help people who can't afford it," she said. "Just the knowledge of helping those in need and helping their classrooms."
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