By L.B. Whyde
Advocate Reporter, Newark

Seventh-day Adventist Elementary School students have raised more than 38,000 pennies for relief efforts for survivors of the earthquake in Haiti. Students pictured are (front row, from left to right): McKayla Davis, Ryan Haynes, Melissa Syvertson, Arianna Wagner and Zachary Davis; (back row, from left to right): Allyson Davis, Andrew Luckett, Joshua Lines, Nicholas Lines and Connor Stufflebean. (Matthew Berry, The Advocate)

When head teacher Tralese Syvertson, of Newark Seventh-day Adventist Elementary School, heard about the Haiti earthquake and the overwhelming number of people killed, she wanted to make it an easier number for her students to understand.

She came up with the idea of collecting one penny for every person killed. The original number she heard when she started the fundraising effort was 72,000. As of this week, the small school has raised more than half that amount, leaving Syvertson overwhelmed by the numbers.

“We wanted to collect 72,000 pennies so the kids could visually see what that looked like,” Syvertson said. “We are at 38,306 and the kids have also learned a bit of sacrifice because we are all really tired of rolling pennies. We have literally spent hours and hours rolling pennies.”

Syvertson and one of her students, Josh Lines, 13, stood up in church and told the congregation about their project. One man brought in more than $150 of just pennies that he had been collecting for many years. He told Syvertson he started collecting pennies when the government announced it would not make any more, thinking they would become a collectors items.

“Now he decided that this was more important,” she said. “Other people took bottles to work to collect or brought in what they had been collecting over the years.”

Lines did a lot of the research on Haiti for the school and he did a PowerPoint presentation for the church.

“I thought collecting pennies would be fun,” Lines said. “It helped me understand the vast numbers affected. I would like to do more.”

Lines is a member of the JAMM kids praise band at the church. He wants the band to do a benefit to raise more money.

Next week, Syvertson plans to take her 13 students in grades one through eight to the bank to cash the pennies in for a check that will be sent to the Adventist Development and Relief Agency.

In addition to collecting pennies, the school also studied Haiti in depth. Sixth-grader Missy Syvertson, 11, learned how Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and how people had to struggle before the earthquake just to survive.

“It was amazing the number of people that died and how some people barely survived,” Missy said.

Although the number of people killed has risen to more than 200,000, Syvertson said they are sticking with their original goal of 72,000. They will continue the fundraiser through May and the end of school. If they surpass that 72,000, they will shoot for 200,000.

“The biggest lesson I hope they learn is compassion,” Syvertson said. “I pray that that is the one that sticks.”

L.B. Whyde can be reached at (740) 328-8513 or lwhyde@newarkadvocate.com.

Source: Newark Advocate