GUEST COLUMN: The Lawrence Township Education Foundation
This year, the Lawrence Township Education Foundation is celebrating a double milestone its 10-year anniversary and its one millionth dollar in grants contributed to innovative and special programs in each of our seven schools.
The LTEF is a nonprofit organization of volunteers from the community business leaders, parents, educators and retirees who are motivated to provide extraordinary educational opportunities in the schools.
Our goals are to enhance that which the school district provides so that our children can experience exceptional programs, and to provide support and stimulus for our educators in their quest for the best possible education our funds, creativity and energies can deliver.
To celebrate these milestones, and to broaden the awareness of LTEF within the community, we are challenging Lawrence Township to raise one million pennies over the next six months. On April 9, the school district helped to kick off the Million Penny Challenge, and students from Lawrence Intermediate School exhibited examples of their penny wisdom. In all seven schools, teachers and students are integrating the curriculum with activities based upon the penny. Teachers have developed penny-related projects involving probability and statistics, history, economics, creative games, writing opportunities, songs and poetry. College professors from Rider and Princeton Universities are contributing ideas and assistance in the projects.
In short, the Lawrence Township schools have adopted the penny as a theme around which we can develop educational focus and opportunities while supporting the efforts of LTEF.
On April 17, the Township Council adopted resolutions congratulating LTEF for its efforts over the past 10 years and endorsing the expansion of the Million Penny Challenge to the entire Lawrence community. We would like the entire township to support LTEF’s efforts in the schools because a community that takes pride in and supports its schools is a community with great schools. As you shop in town, you will see Million Penny Challenge coin canisters on the counters of our business supporters; and we hope that you will contribute whatever you can. A list of those locations and our supporters will begin appearing regularly in this paper. In addition, the Fleet Bank branch at 3140 Princeton Pike has agreed to be our main coin drop off location and is accepting pennies in any denomination. It is our hope that everyone in the community gets excited about the Million Penny Challenge and joins in some capacity. Individual donations are welcome, of course, Don’t we all have pennies lying around that we don’t know what to do with? Community groups are encouraged as well to adopt the penny cause in their events by hosting fund-raisers, car washes, contests or any other opportunity they can develop to engage the community in actively supporting LTEF and our schools.
The pennies that are collected and the community’s efforts will directly benefit the education Lawrence children will receive, and evidence strong community support for our schools.
Please visit our Web site at www.millionpenny.org. All questions can be directed to LTEF’s Executive Director Diane Senerth at 219- 9301. Think pennies!