A penny saved is a penny earned for college

An Indiana woman wanted to help her goddaughter go to college, so back in 1997, she started saving pennies. 

Faith Hammock got them any way she could, even picking pennies off the street. Recently, Hammock added the 500,000 cent to the collection she calls "Pennies from Heaven." 

That translates into a $5,000 boost to Kyla Gilbert's college fund. And Gilbert is grateful for the support. She says, "All this hard work that they've put into me, I had to put it into something else and show them that I'm a good student and they're doing, they're investing in me and they're investing in something good."

Gilbert will head to Indiana University in the fall. With the help of other scholarships, nearly all of her college tuition is paid. 

She says she'll use the money from her godmother to help with room and board. 

Source  www.todaysthv.com/news/watercooler/215681/70/A-penny-saved-is-a-penny-earned-for-college

Pennsylvania Prisons Pinch Pennies?

As with most political debates about spending on state corrections systems across the country, the “truth” often depends on which side of the fence you’re standing.

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) has been trumpeting its ability to shave costs by introducing proposed prison reform policies. The result is what is being called a “historic” moment in corrections history wherein no annual increase in budget has been requested – unlike the average $81 million annual increase that is typically conferred.

Policymakers attribute the savings to their dedication to trimming the fat in the state’s corrections program by improving department processes, by canceling construction plans of at least one new corrections facility, and by reducing the number of misdemeanor offenders that are sent to prison.

This last has caused no small amount of contention among Governor Tom Corbett’s Justice Reinvestment Working Group, which is charged with hammering out the new policy by the end of June 2012. Public disagreement has been aired regarding the plan to forgo sending some misdemeanor offenders to prison in an attempt to draw down the prison population.

What’s more, there is disagreement on a larger scale with the DOC’s pronouncements of savings in the first place, noting that while Governor Corbett has sidelined the plan to build a new facility in Fayette County, he is moving forward with the construction of three new prisons and the expansion of nine existing facilities that will cost taxpayers an estimated $685 million. Decarcerate PA, a group spearheading protest against such expansion, recently accused the governor in an open letter of kowtowing to the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association, which donated $102,000 to his campaign.

If Decarcerate PA has its facts straight (which the Governor claims it does not), then “saving” $81 million next year will not seem so historic after all.

Source  http://www.criminaljusticedegreeschools.com/pennsylvania-prisons-0610121/

Change in Your Pocket: Penny Day

Saving and counting up pennies is a tedious errand. This week, high schoolers at St. Mary`s in Bismarck were using that in their favor. The students were pooling their money to help someone else.

Today, the principal`s office at St. Mary`s high school is more of a bank. Buckets of loose change and thousands of pennies sit waiting to be counted.

"Some people would throw pennies away, but with this, you realize that the monetary value can go to something noteworthy," said junior Andrew Wolf.

Penny Day is a chance for students to dump off any of their unused pocket change to give to a worthy cause.

"I think what it does is allow our kids to understand the value of a dollar as well. A little bit of that has been lost these days," said Religious Studies Chair Reed Ruggles.

There is another incentive for students to give to Penny Day. The teacher can`t start class until he or she is done counting up all of the change the students pile on the desk.

"Always puts a smile on my face. Especially knowing they`re going to have to suffer through counting up all of that loose change I`ve been scrounging up all year," said Wolf.

Not all students are carrying around heavy sacks of coins. Many of them will simply pay in cash.

"What we`re trying to do is cultivate a spirit of generosity for the kids to give to something greater than themselves. I think they get into that, because they know that there are people in need," Ruggles said.

"You never know what other people are going through. What may seem like a little to you may be a lot to them," Wold said.

A chance to help someone else just by giving away whatever change is in your pocket.

The money is taken to the bank where it`s quickly counted. They`re giving the money to a staff member at St. Mary`s who is battling a brain tumor.

Source http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=55825

Madonna on concert tickets: Save your pennies because I'm worth it

Madonna plans to go on tour to support her upcoming album, and when she does, she'll likely charge big bucks for a ticket to get inside. There's talk that dates have already been booked, and Live Nation president Michael Rapino told the Los Angeles Times that tickets will go on sale after Madonna plays the Super Bowl on Sunday.

When asked by Newsweek if her tickets will be very pricey this time around, Madonna said her fans should work all year and scrape their money together because she's worth it.

Pictures: Madonna on Tour

"So start saving your pennies now," she said. "People spend $300 on crazy things all the time, things like handbags. So work all year, scrape the money together, and come to my show. I'm worth it."

Madonna's last tour grossed $408 million worldwide, the most ever for a solo artist.

Madge's new album, "MDNA," comes out on March 26. It's part of a three-album deal the pop star recently signed with Interscope Records. The lead single, "Gimme Me All Your Luvin,'" with M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj, surfaced this week.

Source http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-57371025-10391698/madonna-on-concert-tickets-save-your-pennies-because-im-worth-it/

Pennies for Presents campaign now on

If you've been saving your pennies for a rainy day, now is the time to cart out your coppers.

The 22nd annual Pennies for Presents campaign is currently underway to collect coins for Christmas gifts for Tri-Cities kids.

All funds will be donated to SHARE Family & Community Services Society to purchase presents for tots, tykes, tweens and teens who otherwise might not get to unwrap anything over the holidays.

Last year's Pennies campaign brought in more than $21,000, breaking the previous record by $3,000.

Since the annual coin drive began more than two decades ago, Tri-Cities residents have donated nearly $180,000 to the cause.

Pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, loonies, toonies, bills and cheques can be dropped off at The NOW's office at 201A-3430 Brighton Ave. in Burnaby weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The office is across from the Production Way-University SkyTrain station.

Cheques should be made payable to SHARE Family & Community Services. For more information, contact The NOW at 604-444-3451.

Donations will also be accepted at the following Tri-Cities locations:

COQUITLAM:

- RCMP detachment at 2986 Guildford Way.

- Coquitlam Fire Hall No. 1 at 1300 Pinetree Way

- Ridgeway Community Police Station at 1059 Ridgeway Ave.

- Burquitlam Community Police Station at 560 Clarke Rd.

- SHARE Family & Community Services at 20025 King Edward St.

- Scotiabank at 953 Brunette Ave.

- Scotiabank at 465 North Rd.

- Scotiabank at Coquitlam Centre

PORT COQUITLAM:

- Port Coquitlam Fire Hall No. 1 at 1725 Broadway St.

- Downtown Port Coquitlam Community Police Station at 2581 Mary Hill Rd.

- Northside PoCo Community Police Station at 3312 Coast Meridian Rd.

- Scotiabank at 4100-2850 Shaughnessy St.

PORT MOODY:

- Port Moody Police Department at 3051 St. Johns St.

- Port Moody Fire Hall No. 1 at 200 Ioco Rd.

- SHARE Food Bank at 2615 Clarke St.

- Scotiabank at 2501 St. Johns St.

Source http://www.thenownews.com/news/Pennies+Presents+campaign/5753423/story.html

HOW TO SAVE MONEY (AND KEEP YOUR SANITY)

THERE has never been a better time for us all to try to save money but wouldn’t it be great if we could make savings without sacrificing the things we love and if we could tighten our belts without squeezing the fun out of life? Author TESS READ believes it is possible: ‘I’ve worked in finance and business for many years and I’ve found there are many ways of cutting costs without cutting back on enjoyment. Whatever your situation, there are ways to save.’ Here are Tess’s Top 10 Tips...

1. Money – the basics. Take control of your finances. It’s almost never worth paying a monthly fee for a current account with a bank, so if you do, stop and switch accounts now. The Nationwide’s current account has no monthly fee, has benefits such as free travel insurance and the profits don’t go to line the pockets of any bankers because it is a mutual. It’s free to switch and all your direct debits will be carried over.

2. Credit cards, the good, the bad and the ugly. The good news about credit cards is that if you can pay off the balance in full each month they are great things, especially those offering you cashback like the cards from the Halifax or Co-op. The bad news is that if you have something like the average UK credit card debt, £3,000, and you pay off only the minimum 2 per cent balance, it will take you 45 years to pay off the debt, costing £7,600 in interest!

The ugly truth is that the credit card companies often have the minimum payment ticked for you as the default option so always try to pay more than the minimum. with the £3,000 debt, if you pay off £100 per month it takes only a bit over three years to pay off the debt and costs £1,000 in interest, a saving of £6,600.

Look at the minimum repayment calculator on moneysavingexpert.com to work out how long it would take to pay off your debt on different repayment amounts. If you have a lot of credit card debt, try getting a bank loan instead.

3. Household cleaning expenses and how to cut them drastically by cleaning your home with a lemon. Yes, really. You don’t

need dedicated cleaning products for different cleaning jobs in the home, instead you can use the wonder items of bicarbonate of soda, white wine vinegar and lemons. Visit vinegartips.com for more information and some great advice.

4. Not shopping but swishing. Swishing parties are great ways of finding clothes that are new for you while you exchange old

clothes that you don’t need any more. Look at swishing.com to find swishing parties near you. often you pay a small entrance fee (about £3 and that usually goes to charity), bring along

5. Great holidays without great expense why not think about exchanging your home for someone else’s for your next holiday? The website homeexchange.com has people from all corners of the world and the UK who are looking to stay somewhere in exchange for you staying in their home. If you don’t have an available property then maybe couchsurfing is for you. Look at couchsurf.org or for cheap camping why not camp in someone’s garden?

Check out campinmygarden.com.

6. Need your house redecorated without vast expense? Maybe a television crew would do it for you for free. You can register at beonashow.com.

7. Save money on parking. Parking can often be expensive, be it on the street or in a carpark, but if you rent someone’s drive you can save pounds. Take a look at parkatmyhouse. com, yourparkingspace.co.uk or parkonmydrive. com to see what you could save.

8. Don’t let the supermarkets push your trolley around. They should not be in control of what you buy with their bright signage, eye-level marketing and clever store layouts which have milk in one corner, cereal in the opposite corner. Instead make a list of what you actually want and need and try to stick to it. Change shops when deals change: have loyalty to yourself not to a supermarket.

9. Water is money. If you have fewer people in your house than bedrooms then the rule of thumb is that you could save money with a water meter. If you live in England your water company will fit a meter for you for free. There are lots of free gadgets you can get from your water company which will mean your home uses less water without you even noticing and with a water meter this will save you money too. Check out savewatersavemoney.com to find out more.

10. Shhh – don’t tell them it’s a wedding. If you are planning the big day one tip that can save you pounds is not to tell the caterer, the entertainment and even the cake maker (if you are planning an unusual cake) that it’s a wedding. They routinely double their prices compared to any other special event, like a birthday or an anniversary. You should probably tell the photographer though!

Source http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/275018

Bible Camp Kids Raise a Cool Thousand for Children's Hospital

Children learn about charity, saving and how every little penny adds up over four-day summer program at Fellowship Church in Middletown.

A group of Middletown-area kids attending summer Bible camp recently gathered enough loose change to make a $1,100 donation to the Hartford children’s hospital.

In four days.

Fellowship Church on Saybrook Road hosted 104 children from July 5-8 in grades kindergarten to sixth, and using the PandaMania curriculum, participants rotated through stations like drama, music and crafts throughout the day, while hearing stories to help them understand God.

On family night, a check for $1,100 was presented to the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

“We have had several children in he past year who went to the CCMC,” said Lara SantaMaria, director of children’s ministries at Fellowship.

“One little boy who was born with a rare disease actually was going regularly and now he’s considered cured. The parents talked a lot about it and the great care they received.”

Each day, SantaMaria said, children were asked to go home and collect different coins: pennies on Monday, nickels on Tuesday, ect. "We asked people to dig out their piggy banks," she said. "Obviously, the families helped."

Still, she said, “I was surprised they raised so much money — in change."

“They’re very competitive, so we had a competition between the boys and the girls,” she explained, and instead of declaring a winner, the children were told, “anyone who goes to the Connecticut Children’s Center is actually a winner.”

More than 55 volunteers were involved throughout the week.

Source http://middletown-ct.patch.com/articles/bible-camp-kids-raise-a-cool-thousand-for-childrens-hospital