“Somebody once asked could I spare some change for gas, I need to get myself away from this place. I said yep, what a concept. I could use a little fuel myself and we could all use a little change.” ? Smash Mouth
A few months ago a scruffy looking man wandered into the lobby of the Record-Bee. “I want to help the animals,” he said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his faded, blue flannel shirt.
He was referring to the Adopt-A-Pet advertisement that we run in the paper to help feed and house stray animals.
He dropped a Ziplock bag filled with change amounting to more than $150 on the front counter.
“I collected this money I found,” he said. The receptionist looked at him puzzled and asked him what he meant.
I heard him tell her that he walks all over town and picks up money; pennies, dimes, nickels, and even four one-dollar-bills once.
I was reminded of the man when I was talking to my dad last Sunday.
He told me about “Common Cents,” an idea born from the desire of a four-year-old girl, co-founder, Nora Gross to help another human being.
In 1991 Nora wanted to feed a homeless man. She asked her father, Teddy Gross, co-founder and executive director how she could help the man. He wanted to answer the question for his daughter. The answer came in the form of an organization called “Common Cents” and the “Penny Harvest.”
Out of the mouths of babes, right?
“My father and I were walking down the street in our neighborhood when we passed a homeless man. For some reason, this man struck me differently from all the other homeless people I”d seen on the streets of my neighborhood. Perhaps it was the way he shivered in the cold winter air, or the friendly smile he gave me as we passed. Whatever it was, I felt particularly compelled to help him ? to do more than put the dollar my dad would normally pass to me into his cup. As we walked by, I asked my dad, “Can we take him home?” Nora Gross recalled.
Most people have a bowl or jar that collects dust, usually filled with loose change. Nora hypothetically asked a neighbor whether she would be willing to donate pennies in her collection to the homeless, “she shoved the bowl in our faces and told us to take it immediately. She was eager to get rid of the nuisance and thrilled by the idea of putting the money to good use in the community,” it states on commonsense.org.
“Those pennies turned out to be not only my father”s answer to my question, but also the answer to the unheard questions of millions of children: How can I, a child with so few resources, make the world a better place? Two of the smallest denominators in today”s world (children and pennies) have proved a perfect match! And that is the beauty of “Common Cents:” we give the youngest of all people the chance to look into their communities, see problems and ask questions, and then answer them with the creativity, sensitivity, and generosity that come so naturally to children ? and all this using the loose change that no one seems to miss at all. That”s why nearly two decades later, I am still so proud to be part of Common Cents,” Nora wrote.
Now Nora is in her 20s and is a recent graduate of Princeton University, where she studied art history, photography and African-American studies. She runs the writing center and teaches English at an inner-city charter high school on the West Side of Chicago. She also sits on the board of Common Cents. Nora can be reached at ngross@CommonCents.org.
When the Lake County Chamber of Commerce was trying to raise funds for Fourth of July fireworks, an Add-A-Dollar campaign at area businesses helped ease the financial burden. I know I was able to add a dollar to my bill a few times.
When the budget cuts threatened recovery services, businesses around the county agreed to keep penny jars on the counters called “Pennies From Heaven.”
Sometimes it”s tough to give a lot, but possible to give a little.
“We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” ? Gandhi
Mandy Feder is the Record-Bee news editor. She can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com or 263-5636 Ext. 32.
