Pennies for Peace

Our Primary students annually participate in a Pennies for Peace campaign, in conjunction with the International Day of Peace. Pennies for Peace is designed to broaden our students’ cultural horizons while teaching them about their capacities as philanthropists—one penny at a time.

Pennies for Peace is a program of the Central Asia Institute (CAI), founded by Greg Mortenson, author of the New York Times bestseller Three Cups of Tea. CAI is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that promotes and provides community-based education and literacy programs, especially for girls, in remote mountain regions of Central Asia. Founded in 1996, CAI has built, to date, nearly 100 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which serve more than 28,000 students—over 14,000 of whom are girls.

How can a penny bring peace? It doesn’t buy much in our community. However, in the villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan, a penny can buy a pencil, start an education, and transform a life. That single pencil can empower a child to read, write, and learn.

The Pennies for Peace program goal is to encourage our students, who are ultimately our future leaders, to learn the value of philanthropy by collecting pennies for global peace. Our students join tens of thousands of students around the world who participate in the Pennies for Peace program and who are working together to become members of a global family dedicated to peace.