So, that means I need to put my change to work when I buy other stuff. But I’ve noticed, people just don’t like to wait for you to count out pennies. Dig around for a quarter? OK. Count out nine pennies? Not so much.

If I can’t use them, what’s the point of having a penny?

Woa! Hold on there. That kind of talk could have people throwing rotten tomatoes at me. There are 13,3000,000 results on google for “save the penny”. 1,710,000 for “penny lovers of America”.

According to Americans for Common Cents “eliminating the penny is a losing proposition because it will result in rounding to the nearest nickel and higher prices for America’s working families”.

It also would be a blow to American charities. Even 8-year-old Ronnie Freeman knows that. He just collected more than $3,000 in pennies for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It was part of Woodward Academy’s “Pennies for Patients” campaign. Ten million schools have raised millions since the fundraiser started in 1994.

If you think pennies are underrated, they are. So are most 8-year-olds. If you spend a morning with Ronnie Freeman like I did, you’ll walk away a little wowed. And a little more appreciative of those pennies.

Me: Hi, this is Julie from 11 Alive News. I heard about what you’re doing trying to collect throw-aways for foster kids and I want to do a story about it.

Kimberly: Really?!

Me: Yes, really.  Are you available now?

Kimberly: Now?!

A couple hours later, I was sitting in Kimberly Menhhofer’s kitchen.  I knew the basics of the story when I arrived on the doorstep, but at the end of our conversation (I never say interview, it feels too much like ‘interrogation’), I was awed.  She and her husband, Joe, have fostered 98 kids.  All of that despite Kimberly’s Multiple Sclerosis.  Her story aired Tuesday morning and again on our 7:00 newscast.  Wednesday, we played phone tag and by Friday, I finally talked to her.  She was in tears.  It turns out, our viewers rock. 

They cleaned out closets, basements, and garages searching for donations. Joe has rented a U-Haul truck so he can make a meandering trip through Metro-Atlanta this weekend to pick up all of the donations.  I’ll be there to capture the follow-up and I’m thrilled.  I’m happy to see Kimberly’s selflessness rewarded.  I’m happy to see our viewers rise to the call for help.  I’m happy that a story we aired on 11 Alive can make our community a little better.  Most of all, I’m happy to report something happy in the midst of so much bad news.