Loose Change

We are pleased to announce the launch of the 2014 Loose Change campaign. For the fourth year, the campaign will run in Wayland for one week. Our goal is for all residents to donate their loose change – lost and forgotten coins which we find in our pockets, under our sofa cushions, under the car seats, in a coin jar etc etc. Over the last 3 years we have collected about $40,000 worth of loose change, and every penny has been sent to Peru, where we have built and/or equipped 10 schools in remote villages in the Andes of Northeastern Peru.

This area comprises subsistence farmers who cling to an existence high in the mountains, with no electricity or running water. They receive no other aid from governmental or non-profit sources. Some of the schools in these villages had no books at all before our arrival, the rest had precious few. With our donations of books, paper, pencils and other school supplies the educational opportunities of the children is dramatically enhanced.

We have identified 5 more schools desperately in need of our help, and this year’s goal is to supply all of them with the basic books and equipment they need in order to educate the children.

We are requesting that everyone in Wayland search for the coins that may be lying around, and bring them in to collection points across town next week, January 25th – February 2nd. Every elementary and middle school student has received a baggie and we ask them to search for loose change and bring it in. We are asking for the coins which have been lost and forgotten, but all donations are very welcome. In Peru, even just one penny can buy a pencil, and for a child who can own only 1 pencil this makes a big difference.

Thank you – together we can make a difference.