Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 3, 2007

HAY RIVER - A fundraising effort in Hay River is turning pocket change into a way to help students in Africa.

At the same time, it encourages those making the donations to think about everything they have to be thankful for in their own lives.

Nancy Makepeace, of the NWT Centennial Library in Hay River, holds a calendar outlining the daily contributions from Dec. 1 to 25 in the Count Your Blessings fundraiser. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

The initiative, organized by the NWT Centennial Library, is called Count Your Blessings.

People make small daily contributions from Dec. 1 to 25 for each blessing in their lives based on a list provided by the library. For example, 11 cents is contributed for each camera a family owns, 19 cents for each trip a person went on this year and 25 cents for each quad or snowmobile a person owns.

The collected money will support a library project in Abakrampa, a village in Ghana.

"Just pennies make a difference," said Nancy Makepeace, a program librarian at the Hay River library.

"The money goes very far there," Makepeace added. "It's amazing."

Last year, "Count Your Blessings" raised $877.16 to help a school in Cape Coast, Ghana.

"I was shocked," Makepeace said of the total. "We were very happy with the response."

The Hay River library received photos from the school showing what the money had been used to buy, including three microscopes, soccer balls, two equipment bags, maps, books, pens and other items.

Makepeace got the idea for the fundraiser from the book Under the Tree: Creative Alternatives to a Consumer Christmas.

"I like the idea of, first of all, appreciating what we have at home and making children realize they have so much more than other children," she said, adding the changed sense of appreciation also applies to adults.

Karen Hoose and her family, along with children she baby-sits, participate in the fundraiser.

"Count Your Blessings" is a real eye-opener, especially for children who don't realize how little other young people may have," Hoose said "I think it's an important lesson to teach our kids."

She said a family will never miss the money, but it will make a big difference in the lives of some children.

Hoose said it gives children a sense of pride to help others less fortunate, and also helps them develop a sense of gratitude for what they have.

Her family discusses the list each evening after dinner, she said. "It's a family activity. We do it together."

This year's list focuses on things most children in Ghana don't have, such as a school with a playground.

The list was prepared by a Hay River resident who has visited Ghana.

Makepeace said the library has no target for how much it would like to raise this year, adding, "We'll be happy with whatever we get."