MHS wraps up Pennies for Peace with flair

On Friday, March 21, students and teachers at Montrose High School wrapped up their Pennies for Peace project in a big way. A Loomis armored car arrived at the school to pick up bags of coins and bills collected in penny jars and at fundraisers during the past two months. Montrose County Sheriff Officers escorted the armored car to Timberline Bank, where the donations were counted.

L to R: Diane Winger (Altrusa), Linda Riba (Timberline Bank, Altrusa), Dillon Kogle (MHS student), Kayla Watson (MHS student), Randy Havens (Timberline Bank), Russell Evans (MHS teacher), William Witte (MHS student)

The students collected a total of $2,346.32. Altrusans contributed close to $70 of that amount in pennies collected at meetings. Officers at Timberline Bank presented a check to "Pennies for Peace," a program of the non-profit organization Central Asia Institute. In addition, Starbuck's Coffee is donating $1,000.00 to the program, bringing the total MHS donation to $3,346.32.

The monies raised through the efforts of the group at Montrose High School are enough to purchase annual school supplies for 80 primary students, plus pay the salaries for a year for 3 teachers. For some of the remote mountain villages in Afghanistan and Pakistan, this might support an entire school for a year.

Russell Evans, a teacher at MHS, expressed his hope that Pennies for Peace will be embraced by even more students and schools next year.

Carol Parker (Altrusa) and ASTRA members
assemble Pennies for Peace collection jars.

Other groups in Montrose, including ASTRA, are still involved in ongoing Pennies for Peace projects. ASTRA members have distributed Pennies for Peace jars and brochures to numerous Montrose businesses and organizations. They will be collecting funds from the jars through the end of April. Other penny jars in our community have been placed by Altrusa members.