A few pennies soon multiply into millions of dollars

Nora Gross was four years old in 1990. On a walk in her New York City neighbourhood with her father, Teddy, she saw a street person and asked him if they could take him home.

Instead, her dad suggested he and Nora canvass their condo building to collect pennies that Nora could contribute to a nearby homeless shelter.

Who would refuse a four-yearold girl, standing in their doorway, asking for pennies?

This began what became known as the Common Cents Penny Harvest.

By 2007, the count was 700 million pennies (that’s $7 million for the mathematically challenged).

Teddy became — and still is — executive director of Common Cents.

Initially, Common Cents’ funding was provided through pennies contributed from more than 800 schools across the United States and was re-distributed as scholarships for disadvantaged inner-city school children.

But, alas, Common Cents has fallen on hard times.

For years, major funding was provided by non-profit foundations like the Ford Foundation, the Foundation for Jewish Communities and the New York City Department of Education.

Once flush with as much as $10 million, it is now on the brink of extinction — for the second time.

Last year, the City of New York found $550,00 to prop up Common Cents and this year, they found another $150,000.

But, expenses are a million a year, so you can see where this is going.

I am one of those relics who still likes to deal in cash. I use my debit card and my credit card when I must, but I like having folding money in my wallet.

At the end of each day I put my pocket change into a small jar I keep in the kitchen.

Eventually, it ends up in a donation box at Timmies, which supports the Tim Hortons Camps for Kids.

I was at the opening of the first Tim’s camp when I was a media guy in Ontario and I have always admired what they do.

Speaking of coffee, do you know how Starbucks got its name?

The company was started by three friends, Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bower, all students at the University of San Francisco.

While searching for a name for the company, they considered Cargo House or something to do with the Cascade Mountains.

Bower was partners in an ad agency with a fellow named Terry Heckler who insisted that words which started with ST were often most powerful.

The partners were looking at an old Washington state map where they saw a mining town called Starbo.

Heckler suggested Starbuck, the first-mate in the novel Moby Dick.

They decided to call it Starbucks. Class dismissed. Fred Trainor is a retired broadcaster living in Okanagan Falls. Email: fredtrainor@shaw.ca