News

Monday, December 14, 2009

2009 San Marcos High School’s penny drive to benefit the Santa Barbara Unity Shoppe

The 2009 San Marcos Penny Drive is in full force as the San Marcos High School Leadership Class participates in its 14th annual service learning project. According to ASB activities director Aaron Solis, there is still time to donate as the drive doesn’t end until Thursday of this week.

Leadership students organize the penny drive at local schools, collecting change, bills, and checks, all of which are donated to the Unity Shoppe. The Unity Shoppe is the county’s largest nonprofit group and helps families in need with food, clothes, and other supplies. Although the Unity Shoppe helps families in need throughout the year, there is always a greater need during the holiday season.

The drive began as a school penny “only” collection 14 years ago. Over the years it has grown to include all coins, bills, and checks as well as involve 10 other schools, including schools in the Goleta and Hope school districts. This year other local schools participating in the San Marcos Penny Drive are: La Colina Junior High, Santa Barbara Junior High, Monte Vista Elementary, Hope Elementary, Vieja Valley Elementary, Hollister Elementary, Monroe Elementary, McKinley Elementary, Cleveland Elementary, and Santa Barbara Community Academy.

The San Marcos Penny Drive made a donation pledge of $10,000 to the Santa Barbara Unity Shoppe this past Saturday, during the annual Unity Shoppe telethon. The San Marcos Penny Drive has pledged this amount each of the last five years, although the total donation has exceeded that each of those years. Last year, over $12,000 was actually collected and donated to the Unity Shoppe. This is equivalent of over 5 tons of change being collected.