Holy Wisdom Academy Students Donate "Pennies for Pencils"

(Story by Sister Mary Kemen, August, 2011)

At the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year the staff at Holy Wisdom Academy (HWA) in Milwaukee, WI decided to have the school involved in an outreach project. Two staff members had been a part of the Tri-Parish Pilgrimage to Sagrada Familia in the Dominican Republic the previous spring and had shared with the staff the needs of the parish. Contact was made with Fr. Oriol in the Dominican Republic. He suggested that HWA be in partnership with Escuela Publica San Francisco and help them to get much needed school supplies. So that everyone at HWA could get involved, it was decided to collect pennies to raise money for the school in the Dominican Republic and entitled the project “Pennies for Pencils.” Each classroom had a “bank” where students/staff could put their pennies. The money was collected each quarter and the older students counted the money. One of the teachers took the coins to the bank to exchange them for dollar bills. This money was then taken by another staff member to the World Mission Office. During the school year $1019 was given to Fr. Oriol to purchase school supplies for the children of his parish. At the end of the year, Fr. Oriol sent a power point presentation to HWA that showed the school and the children with their school supplies with a great big thank you from them. Sr. Fran and Sr. Rosemary [from World Mission Ministries] came to personally thank the staff and students for their generosity.

It was decided to continue the “Pennies for Pencil” project during the 2010-2011 school year. The staff and children of HWA were able to give Fr. Marti $836 for school supplies. In May Fr. Oriol came to HWA to share pictures and tell about the lives of the children in Sagrada Familia. He expressed his gratitude for all that the children and staff had done for the children in the Dominican Republic.

Through the involvement in the “Pennies for Pencils” project, the staff and students became more aware of the lives and needs of our brothers and sisters in the Dominican Republic. They also experienced how a group of people working together in Mission can impact the lives of our brothers and sisters in need using something as small as a penny.