A penny drive at New Richland-Hartland Elementary School was more successful than officials predicted.

Friday, December 17, 1999

A penny drive at New Richland-Hartland Elementary School was more successful than officials predicted.

The kindergarten through fifth grade students began the &uot;Blasting into the new millennium&uot; penny drive a week and a half ago, with the goal of raising 2,000 pennies per grade level. The total the school aimed to raise – $120 – would have been used to purchase toys and gifts for area children.

But the students surprised the staff by surpassing their goal on the first day of the penny drive. The very first day, the students raised $146. They’ve collected over 59,800 pennies; about $600.

&uot;It’s amazing,&uot; said Paul Sparby, New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva superintendent. &uot;This project truly showed the compassion of the people in our communities.&uot;

The money was used to purchase toys and Christmas gifts for 19 children within the district. Three families will also receive food baskets at Christmas.

And each class donated a teddy bear to the New Richland ambulance.

&uot;This showed what kids and their parents can accomplish,&uot; Sparby said.

This was the first year for the penny drive, and while the district said it was wildly successful, they doubt they’ll do the same thing next year.

&uot;We’ll do something, but people are out of pennies,&uot; Sparby said. &uot;We had some parents who gave us the pennies they’ve been collecting in a coffee can for 10 years.&uot;

The school will continue to do some sort of fund raising effort during the holiday season because it teaches the children about giving and appreciating what they have, Sparby said.