Every little bit helps toward restoration of historic church
Feb 01, 2010 - 10:46 AM
By Parvaneh Pessian
WHITBY -- Whenever Corrine Konick-Greer comes across a penny, she places it safely in a collection spot in case she ever needs to scrape a few dollars together for a worthy cause.
But in the last two weeks, the Whitby woman's penny stash has multiplied from only a couple hundred to more than 3,000 since she got involved in an ambitious charity initiative for All Saints' Anglican Church in Whitby.
"It just breaks my heart every time I go by there," Ms. Konick-Greer said, referring to the destruction left behind by a fire that broke out on Dec. 14 at the 143-year-old church, located at 300 Dundas St. W.
"I felt like it was my calling to do this for them to help out because it's such a shame to see that church in a state of disrepair."
The idea to collect pennies to donate to the devastated congregation was first brought up by the relief society at Ms. Konick-Greer's own church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Oshawa.
"I took the idea and ran with it because I know most people don't mind parting with pennies and it got such a positive response from my family and friends that I thought why not spread it to the whole community," she said.
The goal of the drive, which has been dubbed Pennies From Heaven, is to raise as much money as possible to assist in rebuilding the church in the spring.
"We're always complaining that pennies take up too much of our space in our wallets and they really have no value to us," said Pat Hamilton, president of the church's relief society.
The penny drive will be taken on by members of all nine wards of the church, which covers all the way west to Pickering, east to Cobourg, and north to Bancroft.
Various gestures of kindness have already been expressed by several local churches and members of the community since the blaze. The most recent donation was made by the Whitby branch of the Royal Canadian Legion that handed a cheque worth $5,000 to the congregation on Jan. 12.
The Town of Whitby has also opened a donation drop-off for the church with Mayor Pat Perkins and members of council encouraging everyone to demonstrate their support. Donations can be made at any CIBC bank to transit 00142-2302039.
Donations of pennies can be made to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, located at the corner of Rossland and Thornton roads in Oshawa.
Call: Ms. Konick-Greer at 905-430-7629
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