 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 
|
Story and photos by Aisha Gawad, Staff Writer Brooklyn, New York  Debra and Elizabeth Richardson rap on doors in their Brooklyn apartment building, smiling and chatting with their neighbors while lugging a large bucket full of pennies door to door. The mother-daughter team is “neighbor harvesting,” visiting families in their building to collect pennies for the Penny Harvest at MS 381, where Elizabeth is in the sixth grade. If anyone is going to convince you to scrounge around your home for loose pennies, it’s Elizabeth. Vivacious, she flips her head sending the white beads that adorn her braided hair clacking together, and looks up at the camera that’s been following her: “I love the camera!” she declares, smiling up at it. But she, along with her mother, also loves the Penny Harvest. Debra, a Penny Harvest Coach herself at IS 78, helped Elizabeth write a letter to slip under her neighbors’ doors, telling them when they’d be knocking, and asking them to donate their spare change for her school’s Penny Harvest. Neighbor harvesting isn’t just about the pennies; it’s also about bonding as a family and getting to know the people who live around you, your often anonymous neighbors. While it may seem like Debra Richardson knows everyone in her building already—she’s always calling out to people by first name, asking after family members and friends—she still wishes she was more connected. “There are still a lot of people in the building that I don’t know, and this is such a good way to meet people.  In my school [as a Penny Harvest Coach], I encourage families to neighbor harvest because, first of all, it’s fun! And it’s also a chance to meet your neighbors,” she said. Elizabeth sees neighbor harvesting as a chance to inform her neighbors about the Penny Harvest and all the good that children at MS 381 are doing. “I learned that as you collect the pennies, you’re helping someone else out, and it’s good to tell the neighbors about it so they get the chance to Penny Harvest, too,” she said. In a society where people often seem too busy and too harried to bother getting to know their neighbors, let alone collect pennies for them, Debra and Elizabeth were surprised by the enthusiastic reactions. When the Richardson’s came knocking, the neighbors remembered their letter, and either had pennies ready and waiting, searched their house on the spot for loose change, or promised to drop by the Richardson’s apartment later to drop them off. Neighbor Frederica Noteman said, “This is such a good cause and it tells a story, and Elizabeth is a part of that story!” “I was surprised that we collected so much. People are so supportive. Can you imagine if everyone went neighbor harvesting? You could fill 25 [Penny Harvest] sacks in just a few buildings alone!” said Debra, gesturing to the now very full bucket Elizabeth is lugging around. Her arm is starting to get tired, but they only have a few more doors to go. “Pennies, pennies! We’ve come for your pennies!” the mother and daughter call out in unison. |
||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
Home | Contact Us | Site Map | Privacy Policy | Web Credits |
|
About Us
