By Mary Grieco
Catholic Herald correspondent
Kids collect pennies for hunger awareness
|
Religious education students from St. Peter the Fisherman Parish in Eagle River display 31,000 pennies the parish youth collected on behalf of hunger awareness. Pictured from left to right are Mary Barr, Robert Hirn, Ally Plese, Cody Williquette and Cody Justice-Weilby. (Photo by Mary Grieco) |
EAGLE RIVER -- From piggy banks, pockets and purses, the pennies kept pouring in from people who heard about the Lenten hunger awareness project at St. Peter the Fisherman Parish. Initiated by youth minister and coordinator of religious education Chris Gall, the collection netted more than 51,000 pennies.
The idea came from information she received from World Vision, an ecumenical Christian hunger relief organization. Her goal was to collect 31,000 pennies which, according to World Vision statistics, is the number of children who die each day throughout the world from hunger and hunger-related diseases. All money collected will go to that organization.
"The response was overwhelming," Gall said. "We reached our goal in just three weekends, and the pennies kept coming." The whole parish got involved, as religious education students stood in back of church after Masses with their collection jars. Students at St. Peter School also quickly filled the jars placed in their classrooms. Gall then took the pennies -- all 250-plus pounds of them -- to a local bank to be counted.
Many youth contributed their own savings. "I felt really great, because I had a lot of pennies to bring," said 10-year-old Robert Hirn, whose mom, dad and brother helped him reach a total of 700.
"I think it is a good idea, because you should help give poor people food," said 8-year-old Taylor Ridderbusch. "Your stomach hurts a lot when you're hungry."
"It is really hard to get kids to understand what it means to go hungry; it is hard for me," said Gall as she looked at the display of the 31,000 pennies placed on a map of Third World areas. "It is a tragedy for us living here when we see even one child die, but for many people in other parts of the world, seeing children die is a way of life every day."
In addition to making the students aware of world hunger, Gall incorporated class material which emphasized the importance of alms giving, particularly during Lent. Middle school students had an opportunity to see slides of the Maryknoll Stations of the Cross, which show present-day parallels to the traditional stations. For example, instead of meeting the women of Jerusalem, Jesus encounters a grieving mother holding a child who has starved to death.
Incorporated with the penny display in the St. Peter Parish Center is a quote from 14th century mystic Meister Eckhart, which reads in part, "There is no such thing as 'my bread.'... All things for sustenance are given on loan to us with others and because of others and through others."
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2001