Iola school children collected over 909 pounds of pennies — 29 bank bags worth after counting — for the Central Asia Institute’s Pennies for Peace drive which uses donations to build and support schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The drive was part of the larger Iola Reads spring effort, which used three versions of Greg Mortenson’s “Three Cups of Tea” for the community read.
Mortenson was a mountaineer who, after being rescued by Pakistani tribesmen in the late 1990’s following a failed attempt climbing the world’s second-highest peak, promised to return to build them a school. That effort led to a change in Mortenson’s life and establishment of the Central Asia Institute, which as of December has built 140 schools in the two predominantly Muslim nations.
Iola schools collected pennies and spare change from Feb. 12, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, through Friday.
Mrs. Hawley’s American Studies class at Iola High School contributed $120 to the cause.
Over 1,000 pounds of pennies were collected overall.
Other collection sites included Allen County Community College, which contributed about four pounds, said ACCC Librarian Steve Anderson, and the Iola Public Library.
In all, $2,073.73 was raised for the educational effort, enough to buy supplies for over 50 students and pay a teacher’s salary for a year.
Community National Bank in Iola plans to add $100 to the total.
USD 257, through librarians Deb Greenwall and Tammy Prather, along with IPL children’s librarian Leah Oswald, led the effort.
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