What weighs 3,125 tons, fills five school buses, and can cover 89.7 acres? The answer is one billion pennies, a significant student contribution toward the success of the largest fund raising campaign in UC’s history, Proudly Cincinnati. Organized by the University of Cincinnati’s Student Government, Proudly Pennies is seen as a way for students to take some ownership in the larger fundraising endeavors of the University by collecting one billion pennies, the equivalent of $10 million. What makes this initiative even more inviting for us students is how the money will be used. In a partnership with the University President, Gregory Williams, students will have a say in how the money we raise will be spent.
The donation of pennies is not limited to students of the University, however. Alumni, faculty, staff, and local businesses are also encouraged to donate their spare pennies. To make a donation, you may either drop your spare pennies off in the collection box located in the cafeteria in Muntz Hall or make a donation online at www.uc.edu/proudlycincinnati/proudlypennies/default.html, where the minimum donation is $10 or 1,000 pennies.
Of course, donations of pennies do not always have to come in the form of pennies either. Whether you want to make a donation of 25 pennies in the form of a quarter or 100 pennies by way of a dollar, it all goes toward making the Proudly Pennies campaign a success.