Library raises $10,000, a penny at a time

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MARQUETTE - The Peter White Public Library's children's room has successfully completed its collection of a million pennies.

The million mark was reached recently, ending a campaign that started in 2001.

The penny collection campaign began in conjunction with a children's exhibit about math that asked the question "How much is a million?" after the book of the same title by David M. Schwartz.

"It started when this new library opened this new building, and there was a display based on David Schwartz's book," said Mary Schneeberger, youth services library assistant. "People were looking for something to collect to show how much a million is, and they decided to do pennies because there was another motivation, of ending up with $10,000 for the children's program."

Later this year, the money will be cashed in to create an endowment fund for children's materials and programming at the library.

Schneeberger said library staff originally underestimated the volume a million pennies would take up, and the large box housing the pennies wasn't quite large enough. Maintenance supervisor Stan Peterson solved the problem by building a treasure chest for the top of the box, to go along with the library's current pirate-themed programs, she said.

Most of the pennies were collected from residents and visitors who contributed pocket change, dollar bills, checks and saved pennies over the last seven years. Many area businesses and organizations also hosted collection cans and fund-raisers. The final donation came from the "Knead to Read" literacy organization in recent weeks.

"They wrote a check for the balance we needed at the end there, something a little over $100," Schneeberger said. "That's a thousand pennies, so that was very helpful."

The pennies remain at the children's room for now, displaying the answer to the question of how much a million is.