Students in a Hebrew class in Akron, Ohio, are hoping to collect 13 million pennies – one for each person killed in the Holocaust. The 14 students have collected 65,000 pennies so far and are seeking donations from residents citywide.
Money raised in the effort will be donated to, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, Yad Vashem and others.
The project was inspired by Whitwell Middle School in east Tennessee, which set out in 1998 to collect 6 million paper clips – representing each Jew who died in the Holocaust – and received several times that number.
The Tennessee students decided to collect paper clips because they discovered that paper clips were invented by Norwegians, who wore them on their lapels as a silent protest against Nazi occupation during the war.
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13 Responses
Kol Hakovod! Its really touching to see how so many people out there will NEVER FORGET.
i thiught there were 6 million ppl. or maybe that was only the jews?
Why are students in an Akron hebrew school collecting 13 million pennies as opposed to 6 million?
Yes, 12 million people in total. Half were Jews.
is thee an address to send them pennies i wouldnt mind contributing to the cause
To Baal Boose…
What a Kiddush Hashem it will create if and when they succeed and gain media attention that they collected a penny for each goy who passed as well as each Yehudi.
I appreciate all who commented with their ‘two cents’ here
This Idea is sort of cheap (no pun intended). This concept was taken from the Documentary “Paper Clips”.
Whitwell Middle School in rural Tennessee is the setting for this documentary about an extraordinary experiment in Holocaust education. Struggling to grasp the concept of six-million Holocaust victims, the students decide to collect six-million paper clips to better understand the extent of this crime against humanity. The film details how the students met Holocaust survivors from around the world and how the experience transformed them and their community.
YW editor;
A penny for your thoughts???? LOL
Lichorah:
Originality is not the only thing that counts. The fact that it has been done before does not take away from its value as a concrete visual aid to the young people involved in the project. It’s easy to say 6 million, or 12, 13, whatever, but did you ever try to count that? A person can’t visualize such a large number. It is very powerful to show the kids 13 million of an object and say “That’s how many people… Imagine a real person for each one of these.”
In addition to this lesson, 6,000,000 pennies = $60,000 that they will be donating to their cause. Besides the money itself, these children will have an enormous sense of accomplishment when this is done. It is essential for kids to have this experience of contributing to society.
The point was not to wow people with their creativity.
Lichora,
Who cares who came up with the idea. I saw that film paper clips, kol kakavod to them but why cant another group of children get together to do the same thing?
dont take from achmad weiss
wots the address. ive got loads of penny’s. would love to get rid of them. yes im serious….