idealist.org

In 1991, Common Cents revolutionized the world of giving with the inauguration of the Penny Harvest, which is now the largest child philanthropy program in the country. The Penny Harvest grew from one child’s desire to feed the homeless. For the last 15 years, children from virtually every school and neighborhood in the New York City have been converting their innate compassion into action by collecting pennies and making grants to community organizations while learning crucial leadership and decision-making skills. Through the Penny Harvest, students see the concrete results of their first civic participation — the abstract becomes real.

Last spring New York’s young people made 1,378 grants to non-profits, such as women’s shelters, food pantries, animal rights organizations, community gardens, and senior centers, and carried out 366 community service projects, including block clean-ups and literacy programs.