“As I select a penny from my own Pennies 4 Memories box, the year 1976 was a time of new adventures that ultimately changed the direction of my life. I enlisted in the Army Reserves! I did so to celebrate the Bicentennial and to serve my country. In my youth, I had traveled with my family across the United States, as well as to several foreign countries. Over those years, I developed a deep appreciation and love for America.

My service lasted 20 plus years, which I am thankful for each and every day. In February of that same year, I resigned from my job as an assistant restaurant manager to accept a teaching position with Fairfax County Public Schools. As an elementary education major in college, I earned my teacher certification and felt I owed it to my father to give teaching a chance. My first assignment was working with students who had a variety of learning and behavioral challenges. Everything felt right from the moment I entered the classroom.

One of my fondest memories as a classroom teacher was a project I had assigned to my elementary school students. The idea came from a book entitled, “The Hundred Penny Box” authored by Sharon Bell Mathis. The challenge for the students was to find a penny dated from each year they had been alive. So, if the student’s age was 12, they were to find and collect 13 pennies, display those pennies, and then give an oral presentation which was to include a significant happening from each year.

Of course, the students had to rely upon their family members to help gather the information. As I learned in later years from those students and their parents…the project was not only an extraordinary learning experience, it also brought families together. Over time and with much thought, the Pennies 4 Memories gift bag concept was given birth. My thinking went something like this…if a classroom project brought my students and their family members closer together, why couldn’t Pennies 4 Memories provide others with a similar experience? So, here we are today!

I believe, that there is a gift in affording people a way to remember the significant moments from their past; the very moments that made them who they have become. So, here’s wishing you, your loved ones, and friends a lifetime of memories never forgotten.”