Last year, after College sophomore Sara Heinze's close family friend, four-year-old Alexa, passed away from complications after being treated for neuroblastoma, she began to think about what she could do to help.
As president of her high-school athletic association, Heinze helped organize a "change drive," that raised about $2,000 for a three-day breast-cancer walk by collecting small change from students. While driving to work one day, Heinze realized she wanted to start a similar effort at Penn.
A Google search for the name she came up with, "Change for Change," showed her that an organization with the same mission had been formed at Penn in 1999. Its goal, according to 2002 Penn alumna and founder Dana Hork is to, "create a nationwide network of young adults raising funds for charitable causes through the collection of loose change and larger donations." Excited, Heinze e-mailed Hork about reviving a branch at Penn.
Hork had started Change for Change after a similar "ah hah!" moment, while cleaning out her freshman dorm to return to Minnesota for the summer. She noticed the large amounts of change she had accumulated and figured she probably wasn't the only one. Hork realized that "small change could make a meaningful difference to a charitable cause."
"She was just ecstatic," Heinze said of Hork's reaction to reviving the organization's Penn branch.
This year, Penn's branch of the charity plans to donate to Alex's Lemonade Stand, a foundation that supports pediatric cancer research.
Since Hork graduated, the volunteer organization, now based in New York and run by a volunteer Board of Directors, has developed into an official 501(c)3 philanthropic organization. It has spread to a number of campuses and businesses, including Fordham Law School, New York University's School of Medicine, and JP Morgan Sales and Trading Summer Analysts. However, since 2002, Penn's branch has not been active.
Part of the revamped initiative on campus includes a more focused look at the West Philadelphia community.
It is about "raising awareness about our community," Heinze said. Also, "by knowing exactly where the money is going, people will continue giving," she said.
A member of Sigma Kappa sorority, Heinze anticipates tapping into the Greek system to help spread the word. She said she hopes to establish liaisons with the different fraternity and sorority houses to collect cups of change and bring them to a collection point. She also plans on doing a "Quad run" - collecting coins around the Quadrangle - at the end of the semester to help get the word out to freshmen.
Heinze said she also looks forward to expanding into the campus and surrounding community. She is in the process of organizing nearby restaurants and shops to join in the effort by placing change collection cups at register counters.
She added that students interested in joining the cause can join Penn's chapter of Change for Change on Facebook and keep an eye out for flyers on Locust Walk in the next few weeks.
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