Hopkins Hill Students Collect Pennies for Patients

Students at Hopkins Hill Elementary School, along with friends and family members, recently rounded up their loose change for a good cause.

At the beginning of March, students began participating in a 3-week Pennies for Patients collection to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The school set a collection goal of $1,000 for the duration of the program but after just one week, the Hopkins Hill School community had already turned in $1,029. By the end of the three weeks, the final tally was a whopping $2,840.02!

"These kids have been emptying their own piggy banks," said fourth grade teacher and Pennies for Patients organizer Kim O'Connell. "We even had one student donate his own $20 bill. The generosity of the students and their families has just been amazing. It gives me chills."

The money collected during the campaign will be used to help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's efforts to find a cure and provide a better quality of life for cancer and blood disease patients and their families. 

As a reward for their efforts, the class that collected the most money was awarded a pizza party. The entire school also earned the opportunity to have their lunch served to them by Behavioral Specialist Mike Greene dressed as a lunch lady, hair net and all. Principal Kathy Tancrelle also got in on the action and spent the final day of the project dressed as a hippie to thank the students for their generosity.

Tancrelle explained that the students at Hopkins Hill have the chance to participate in a different charity each week, many of which are proposed by the students themselves. The school also holds two can drives per year to benefit the Coventry Community Food Bank and due to its status as a Feinstein Leadership School, Alan Shawn Feinstein regularly matches the donations.

"Our students love helping others and often reach out to us with their own ideas to do so," said Tancrelle. "These kinds of acts give them a chance to see that even by doing something small, they can really make a difference in someone's life. It's never too early to start teaching that message."

This was the first year that Hopkins Hill took part in Pennies for Patients and based on the excitement of the students as well as the fundraising success, O'Connell said that the school will definitely be participating again next year.