Holiday Gift to the World—Priceless Pennies to Remove Landmines Children Raise Millions of Pennies to Heal Wounds of Afghan War

December 21, 2003--San Rafael, California—Over 5 million pennies have been raised by Marin County students in an international effort to MAKE CHANGE WORK by demining Afghan fields and rebuilding schools and soccer fields so that innocent children have “fair play“. The Roots of Peace penny drive began on September 11, 2003 in an effort to remove the deadly seeds of terror caused by landmines. The campaign ends on the last day of Fall 2003.

Sunday, December 21st marks the last day of Fall 2003, and the children’s Holiday gift to Afghanistan will be to plant the roots of peace on earth. St. Raphael’s Mission Church, 1104 5th Avenue, will host a special Mass on Sunday, December 21st at 10:30 a.m. Children from all around Marin County will pull their shiny red wagons full of pennies to the alter in an effort to heal the wounds of war in Afghanistan where childhood innocence has been robbed.

St. Raphael’s Church was named for the Archangel Raphael, the angel of healing—the children hope to share this global message, healing the wounds of war by removing an estimated 70 million landmines planted in 70 countries.

The Fall 2003 Roots of Peace “penny drive” was launched by Cheryl Jennings, ABC News Anchor, Heidi Kühn, founder Roots of Peace and her 16 year old daughter Kyleigh—all three women traveled to landmine affected countries in the Balkans and vowed to make change happen for innocent families who suffer the perils of mines. “Whether the boot of a soldier or the sandal of a child, these silent weapons maim and kill over 10,000 mothers and children annually,” says teenage founder, Kyleigh Kühn. “Children have pennies to make change work!”

Over 50 Marin County schools have actively collected their pennies for peace. Supporting partners include ABC News, United Nations Mine Action Group, US Department of State, Marin County Office of Education, Loomis Fargo, Bank of Marin, A+ Report Card, and local businesses.

Photo Caption and Credit. Stephen Cresalia, 6, of San Rafael sits in a wagon filled with some of the 5 million pennies raised by the ‘Pennies 4 Peace’ program. Some of the pennies were presented at St. Raphael’s Church in San Rafael yesterday morning. The program was founded by 16-year-old Kyleigh Kühn and her mother, Heidi Kühn of San Rafael, to raise money to remove land mines in Afghanistan. The change was collected from 50 Marin County schools. Alan Dep photo