Rick Gunn/Nevada Appeal Emmy Heller, 9, shows off some of her pennies that she pitched into the standing water on the playground of Fritsch Elementary School on Friday. Emmy and her classmates are raising funds for victims of the tsunami in parts of Asia and Africa.
Emmy Heller's small desire to collect coins at Fritsch Elementary School for tsunami victims in parts of Asia and Africa is generating more response than she thought possible.
"One of the students in Mrs. Anderson's class brought in a big change jar from home," the 9-year-old said Friday at the school.
Emmy and her parents, Lynne and Dean, are taking six large plastic jugs to Piñon Plaza Resort 8 a.m. Monday to tally up the change. Her dad thinks there could be up to $400 with the paper money in between.
"They'll dump it into a machine and give us a check and we'll send it to UNICEF to use for the children to get blankets and water and things they need," Emmy said.
She'll spend her weekend separating dollar bills from the change, but giving up her time is something she's been doing all week: She and her mother pulled a wagon from classroom to classroom, collecting smaller coin containers and taking them to the auditorium to dump into the large plastic bottles.
While the third-grade jar was more than halfway full with coins on Friday, many of the donations of $1, $5, $10 and $20 bills couldn't be seen for all the change that covered them.
Ty Bibbe, 10, thinks highly of Emmy's project.
Then, of course, he wanted to help the tsunami victims in his own way and found out he couldn't.
"He wanted to adopt a couple of kids," his mother Cara said.
The coin container in Ty's classroom was so full of change that it spilled out.
"A lot of kids kept on bringing big jars of money from home," he said.
Parents were able to donate to Emmy's tsunami relief this week during an evening ice cream social at the school. Principal David Aalbers saw many parents stopping at the jars.
"It's a good project for the school," he said. "It's good for the children to learn to be empathetic toward others in need."
With her project nearing an end, Emmy said she's learned fund-raising is hard work, but well worth it.
"I've never actually thought I would get to do something so special," she said. "I'm also really glad for all the parents and children who came in to help."
Contact reporter Maggie O'Neill at moneill@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.