Greg Mortenson

original cover/subtitle

bestseller cover/subtitle

Last month we had the pleasure of seeing best-selling author (and so much more), Greg Mortenson.  You may not know him by name, but most have probably heard of his book Three Cups of Tea.  And if you hadn’t heard of it, well now you have.  You’re welcome.

I am not going to go into what the book is about, but if you care to know just google it.  Or read my good friend’s synopsis of it here.  Yes, I am the “Sarah” she refers to in the post.

Oddly, the talk he gave was primarily just a retelling of what was in his book.  That seemed odd since I bet at least 90% of the people there had already read it.  I wonder if they too were there hoping for more of a “what has happened since” kind of thing.  He did focus a lot though on his charity called Pennies for Peace.

The first bit of funding Mortenson received to fulfill his humanitarian promise was from school children in the form of small change.  It made all the difference in that first project of his and today the pennies children are donating are continuing to help fund education for youth in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

If you are a teacher, or perhaps have a roommate who is a teacher, I encourage you to look into this program and/or spread the word.  I know the school year is just about over, but that gives you all Summer to figure out how to work it into your curriculum.  Not only is it beneficial to kids in other parts of the world, but it will be to your students as well.  Click on the Pennies for Peace link above to find out how to get involved!