Organizers of the Friends of the American University Library's first-ever penny race to raise money to improve the scholarly collection at Bender Library say the event is on its way to meeting its fundraising goal.
Currently, there is $29.42 in the main general collection basket alone. This amounts to 14.71 feet of pennies. In one hour, the School of Public Affairs Graduate Council collected $2.12, said Peter Brusoe, chair of the Student Working Group. In terms of pennies and distance, this is 212 pennies and 1.06 feet of pennies, respectively. Additionally, individual teams have collected between $10 and $120 each, according to Brusoe.
The results positively reflect the goal to collect a mile of pennies, which is $10,560, by Dec. 5, according to a flyer about the event.
A month into the drive, there has been an overwhelming response by student organizations on campus. Groups currently involved include the Inter-Fraternity Council, Blue Crew, AU Ambassadors, the School of International Service Graduate School Council and the Inter-Faith Council. In addition, through recruiting efforts by the Student Working Group of the Friends, the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the Residence Hall Association have agreed to be part of the drive, according to Brusoe.
Although the original idea was to have smaller clubs or the student councils be involved in the race individually, the Student Working Group has found that the larger associations composed of many clubs are willing to be involved also, Brusoe said.
Students can contribute to the penny drive by putting their loose pennies in donation jars, which are located throughout campus. Donation jars can be found at the Admissions Welcome Center, in Mary Graydon Center and at other various locations throughout campus. At the library, donation jars are found at the Library Reserves and at the circulation desk.
Kyrie Banner, a freshman in the School of International Service, contributed to the cause even though she is not directly involved with the groups in the race.
"I love libraries, and I needed to empty out my change purse," said Banner, who emptied her change at the donation jar at the Admissions Welcome Center.
Despite efforts to raise awareness, some students still do not know about the program that began Oct. 10.
"I have absolutely no idea what the penny drive is for, how much we are collecting or when it started," said Lillian Gibbons, a freshman in SPA.
This project is the first of its kind at AU and will take time to get started, according to Brusoe.
"We're shooting for whatever we can get," said Sam Reggio, one of AU's library monitors and a member of the Student Working Group of the Friends.
Eagle Contributing Writer Laura Wolz contributed to this article.
