Students at Pinckney School, 810 W. Sixth St., recently found an unusual way to raise money for Habitat for Humanity.

Students in Devin Heath’s fifth- and sixth-grade seminar class wanted to collect pennies for several learning activities, and they wanted to donate the money to a charity afterward. The nine students in the enrichment program researched many charities and decided they wanted to donate the money they raised to Lawrence Habitat for Humanity. The penny fundraiser took place between January and March, and the students encouraged the entire student body to get involved. Representatives from Heath’s seminar visited other classrooms to promote the penny drive. On the final day of collection, there was a competition between classes to raise the most money. More pennies were collected on that day than throughout the rest of the fundraiser. One student even gave $80 in pennies that he and his family had been saving.

The students raised a total of $700 (70,000 pennies), exceeding their original goal of $500. Heath said that this type of fundraiser made it easier for people to give because they tend to have extra change lying around that they are not using.

The students involved in the enrichment program used the pennies for math and statistics problems, historical research, and even built structures with the copper coins. The kids said they enjoyed counting the pennies, creating posters and motivating students to give.