The motto this year at Summit School of Ahwatukee is "The Power of One". One person, one act, one school, and in this case, one penny, can make a difference in the lives of many. This year one penny made a big difference in the life of students at the Griffith Elementary School in central Phoenix.
A school wide penny drive, to benefit Griffith's struggling library, was part of Summit's annual Scholastic Book fair. Summit students raised $990.73 and that bought a lot of books! Griffith School's librarian, Lisa Kreb was overcome with emotion when she arrived at Summit, to collect what she hoped would amount to $100, and found $990.73 awaiting her. She used the money for a shopping spree at Summit's book fair, loading her arms and her car with books for Griffith's kindergarten through sixth grade school. Scholastic Books matched the amount of pennies collected and donated books to three national literacy charities. Two other community partners in the drive were MidFirst bank, at 48th Street and Chandler Boulevard who waved their fees for counting the pennies and Jamba Juice who donated treats for the winning classroom.
