An Ontario teenager has raised more than $100,000 to help build a home for a needy family -- and it all started with a few pennies.
Josh Morrison, 15, tells CTV News Channel he was in a Habitat for Humanity second-hand store nearly four years ago when he heard about the charity’s plan to build homes for low-income people.
“Right then, instantly, I felt God was telling me to help out on that,” he said from his home in Uxbridge, Ont.
“I wrote a letter to my principal at my school and asked if we could start raising pennies,” he said.
After a couple of months of fundraising at his school, Morrison had collected 11,000 pennies -- just $110.
“I didn’t really know how much $100,000 was at the age of 11,” he admits.
Morrison still needed 9,989,000 more one-cent pieces, so he sought help at fundraisers outside of school, like a family fun fair and spaghetti dinner.
Eventually, an anonymous group agreed to match donations up to $18,000, and that put him well over the $100,000 mark.
Morrison said he’s excited to help choose the family that will move into the “penny home,” which will be part of a 24-unit townhouse project in Oshawa.
Habitat for Humanity Durham would welcome a few more pennies to complete the project. The public can donate online or at any TD Bank branch. Dollars are welcome too.
