Marlborough students help Boston AIDS Africa one penny at a time

MARLBOROUGH —  Pennies really do add up. Students at the grades 4-7 school are using coins to raise hundreds of dollars for AIDS care kits that will go to Africa. In the "Penny War" fundraiser, students bring in pennies for their team's jar and dump all other currency in opposing teams' jars. Teams get deductions for each cent in their jars that is not a penny.

"There's kind of a healthy rivalry," Maureen Gibbons, a fourth-grade teacher and organizer of the fundraiser, said with a smile. "Friends from other classrooms threaten each other with nickels and dimes."

Gibbons estimates the classes will have enough for 15 to 20 kits, which was the goal. Kits cost $30 each. The fund-raiser started Tuesday and will run through Monday. The action starts in the morning, when the children get to school and put coins in the jars outside the classrooms.

Parents have been helping, giving their children pennies they have been saving for a long time, Gibbons said.

"It's been kind of a team effort," she said.

Nick Melanson, 9, brought in 700 pennies yesterday.

"I like that we get to take extra change and give it to a good cause," said Elizabeth Goldberg, 9.

Mia Natala, 10, said her team is in the lead.

There is a strategy to winning the "Penny War." Gibbons said her students keep track of the leader board to see which teams could use the deductions. Since the time for collecting each day runs until noon, her students also wait to put all of their pennies in their jar.

"I was going around spying on (other teams) and I went back and told who had the most," said Mike Pucchino, 10.  Eric Palardy, 9, said he likes dropping dollars and coins in the other jars.

At the end of each day, the students count up the coins in their jars. Students can learn a number of lessons from the activity, Gibbons said, such as adding and subtracting with negatives.

There is fund-raising every year at the school. This time, Gibbons brought the idea to her students, who liked it.

"They were very empathetic right off the bat," Gibbons said.

It was supposed to be between just two classes. But more people wanted to be involved, and it spread to 10 fourth- and fifth-grade classes and about 200 students. Each team is made up of two classes.

"It got more exciting," Gibbons said.

The money will go to Boston AIDS Africa, an organization that aims to assemble 10,000 caregiver kits on Nov. 22. The kits include such supplies as washcloths, gloves and medications that help people living with AIDS and protect their caregivers.

Gibbons has not decided on a prize for the winner yet, but it will likely be something like an extra trip to the playground.

"I think the big win is the total we finally come to," Gibbons said. "I can't wait to find out what the total is."

(Paul Crocetti can be reached at 508-490-7453 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)

Link to the story in Metro West Daily News