A penny by itself isn’t worth much to most people. But when dedicated students come together for a good cause, those pennies, combined with other loose change can amount to $2,854.52 in just under six weeks. 

Students of PS 94 filled jars, shoe boxes, envelopes and more with any and all loose change they could collect to go towards the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Pennies for Patients fund-raiser.

The funds go towards patient services and cure-focused research, said Kristina Wertheimer, one of the society’s coordinators. She is part of six-person team responsible for 570 schools in the city’s area.

Five years ago, Principal Diane Daprocida and school counselor Angela Marinez adopted the program with a goal of only $500. Since then, “it has grown extremely popular in the school,” said Marinez.

Daprocida said her niece passed away from leukemia two years ago.

Ms. Quinones’ class, a special needs class of 12 children, won the pennies competition open to fourth and fifth graders. The reward was a free pizza recess.

Christina Fulton, who raised $116, said she “feels good helping other people who do not have anything and people should always donate old clothes, food and loose change.”
Jose Andino, who also raised $116 and helped with the decorating of the classroom, said, “I never won anything in my life. It feels good. Now my class has bragging rights.”

Behind the backbone of the whole event were six peer mediators: Nurzhan Rahman, Edward Collado, Muhammed Miah, Marjan Hasan, Atahr Abdullah, and Amna Nafees.
Marinez claims that the dedicated students have been organizing bake sales, making signs and more and arrived at school every morning at 8 a.m. sharp.

“I don’t like to see people cry, that’s why I helped out,” Nurzhan, 10, said. “I tried to solve a problem.”
Edward, 10, said, “If people don’t like helping others, they really should because when something happens to you, you wouldn’t like it if no one helped you out.”