Glenwood Springs Post Independent
(CO)
February
19, 2008
Glenwood second-grader collects
pennies to change the world
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By John Gardner
GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Hopper Rix is a
little girl with big plans.
“I would like to
make a T-Rex come to life one day,” said the Sopris
Elementary second-grade student.
That’s just one
of her many long-term ambitions. But Friday afternoon, at Alpine Bank in
Glenwood Springs, one of her more current projects came to fruition.
Accompanied by
her mother, Jennifer Rix, and another friend from her
class, Ryan McCoy, Hopper and company wheeled in a small plastic barrel of
pennies in an American Flyer wagon. “Pennies for Peace,” written in
second-grade scrawl taped to the side of the canister, explained Hopper’s
intent.
Enthusiasm was
reflected in their wide-eyed expressions and full-toothed smiles as they
climbed the stairs to the lobby of the bank.
“I’m going to do
it one at a time and count them as I go,” Hopper said to Ryan as she grabbed a
handful of pennies from the jar. “Well, maybe one handful at a time.”
“It will take
like an hour to count all these,” Ryan said.
And he wasn’t
far off, either.
The two spent
nearly an hour dumping, handful by handful, pennies into an automatic counter.
In all, Hopper raised $157.81 that was matched by Alpine Bank for a total of
$315.62.
Hopper
accomplished the task by spreading the message of “Three Cups of Tea” co-author
Greg Mortenson about raising money to help build
schools in Pakistan through the Pennies for Peace Program. “I wanted to do
Pennies for Peace to help the students in Pakistan,” Hopper said. “We can’t go
over there and change the laws but this is something we can do to help.”
Hopper learned
of the program when her mother read “Three Cups of Tea” to her in the fall of
2007. Then, her mother took her to hear Mortenson
speak at Colorado Mountain College in November. That’s when Hopper got really
excited because rustling up pennies is something she knew she could do to help.
When asked why
she wanted to get involved, she pointed to a letter to the editor she submitted
to the Post Independent in November, and read from it.
“His speech made
me feel sad, because the girls aren’t treated nicely and many aren’t allowed to
go to school. But I am also happy because we can do something about it,” Hopper
said.
She paused and
smiled.
The program is
designed to raise money through pennies because everyone, even elementary
students in America, can get their hands on them. And the coins stretch further
in Pakistan than they will in the Roaring Fork Valley.
“You can’t buy
anything with a penny here, maybe a speck of dirt,” Hopper said. “In Pakistan
you can buy a pencil.”
Her smile grew
after that statement. It made her mother giggle, too.
“She’s a spirited
kid,” Jennifer said. “This is a great way for her to aim her energy.”
Contact John
Gardner: 384-9114 jgardner@postindependent.com