Emma – “Collecting pennies made me happy.”

Jimmy N. – “Perfect. Counting money made me feel good. I’d like to do it again.”

Kayla – Smiling she said “It felt good.”

Jimmy S. – “Great. It was a pretty good cause. Thought it might have more potential. Definitely want to do it again.”

Mackenzie – “Liked it when I counted the pennies.”

What do the students feel so good about? They spent the month of September and part of October, every day, collecting change for a cause and last night we had the honor of presenting the results of their hard work to the Kanzius Foundation.

Caitlyn Bish and Emma Hickman (2 students) Nina Wolfarth (ELBS Early Care Coordinator) and myself presenting the check to the Kanzius Research Foundation during the 2013 telethon.

$1,100.00 was raised from pennies, dimes, quarters and dollars donated by ELBS students, faculty and the BNI staff.  This year the students increased the donation by $500.00! A goal the children and the faculty were ecstatic to achieve. I was thrilled too and am excited to see the meaning of giving developing in our children.

As Josh said “It felt really nice. It’s a really great cause. Raising money to help other kids is a really great thing to do.” He is so right.

We are very fortunate to have so many friends within the Erie community who support the BNI cause. That’s why it’s so important for us to give back to the community and what better way than the Kanzius Fundraiser?

I was often asked, during the penny drive, if the children understood the concept of giving. Yes they did. Every day they looked forward to collecting change and counting the collection. The word GIVE was the most used word last month by our students.

The penny drive was our most recent act of giving. However, giving is a lesson that is taught daily by being kind with our words, art, time, and friendships. Random acts of kindness are a great thing, but regular acts of kindness are even better! Our students are a role model for me and our community. They inspire us to get giving every day.