“Pennies for Freedom”

Youth Supporting the Building of the

Statue of Responsibility- an Historic Educational

Hands-On Learning Activity in

Social Responsibility and Citizenship

“Freedom is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth.

The positive aspect of freedom is responsibleness.

That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a

Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.”

Viktor E. Frankl, M.D., Ph.D.

Man’s Search for Meaning

Last update 6 May 2008

I. Background

Viktor E. Frankl, M.D., Ph.D., Vienna, Austria, 1905-1997, was a celebrated neurologist and psychiatrist, and author of 32 books. Some forty years ago in his national best selling book Man’s Search for Meaning, Dr. Frankl advanced the idea that to have freedom endure, liberty must be joined with responsibility. To that end, he proposed that the “Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.” Man’s Search for Meaning is a personal account of his experiences in WWII Nazi concentration camps. The book has been translated into 28 languages and has sold over 9 million copies. The book is on the U.S. Library of Congress exclusive list of the “Ten Most Influential Books in America”. In the 1960’s, Dr. Frankl gave this message to his audiences:

“Freedom threatens to degenerate into mere arbitrariness, unless it is

lived in terms of responsibleness.

Therefore, The Statue of Liberty on the Atlantic Coast

should be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on

the Pacific Coast”

II. Historical Perspective

In 1884, Hungarian immigrant Joseph Pulitzer, applied his influence in publishing to help raise the money needed to complete the base of the Statue of Liberty. Pulitzer, a successful journalist and veteran of the Civil War, devised a plan to get the attention of wealthy donors who had not yet contributed to the monument. His plan was to print the name of every school child who donated even the smallest amount in his newspapers. Soon papers around the country were doing the same, and the money was raised.

‘Pennies for Freedom’ is a fundraising/educational awareness campaign inspired by Mr. Pulitzer and created to help build the Statue of Responsibility through student involvement.

III. Program Overview

“What kids can do today to help build the Statue of Responsibility

is to collect enough pennies that will stack

up 300 feet tall – the same height as the monument.

Wouldn’t that be cool!

I bet you can do it!”

Reese Haller

Youngest Published Author in America

Students in each participating school raise enough pennies to stack 300 feet tall, the same height as the Statue of Responsibility (and the Statue of Liberty). Once the pennies are raised by the students, and following a school ceremony event, the pennies are donated to the Statue of Responsibility Foundation. Our goal is to have five schools from around the country participate initially in a pilot program, complete the fundraising, hold the ceremony, document everything and have CMG, Creative Media Group, create a video documentary of the program as it played out in the five schools. This documentary will then be used to promote the program nationwide, and perhaps internationally too.

IV. Program Guidelines

1. Appoint a faculty representative or administrator for the program and secure student involvement via the student council or other student organization.
2. Manage program within the school, have classes determine their ‘portion’ of the 300 foot goal and compete with other classes…
3. Coordinate PR with school district and community media (newspaper, radio, TV).
4. Establish a workable timeline for program (school year).
5. Invite SOR Foundation President and Student Spokesman to kick off program and get students excited and focused.
6. SOR Foundation will award successful schools with recognition gifts (‘Responsibility 911’ book, signed poster, final edited documentary of program, students names on Foundation website, etc.)
7. See that the program is documented by digital video and digital stills.
8. All video and still photos will be given to CMG, Creative Media Group (SOR Foundation film crew). They will edit footage and create a promotional documentary. This will be used by SOR Foundation to promote the program nation wide. Each initial participating school will receive a copy.
9. Plan big final PR event. Pennies laid out on football/soccer field. Local media invited. School principal, mayor, SOR Foundation officials invited to participate. Contact national student TV network, Channel One, to invite their student reporters to cover the event. Arrange for local TV channel to do a fly over with helicopter and camera.
10. The math:

*240 pennies = one foot

*72,000 pennies = 300 feet

*72,000 pennies = $720.00

*30 homeroom classes in the school = $24.00 per class

*24 students per class = 100 pennies per student

1. SOR Foundation will provide the 300 foot holder for the 72,000 pennies (or provide instructions to construct the holder). This holder needs to be placed on a 300 foot role of white, heavy weight, butcher paper. Draw incremental marks on paper showing various heights (25 feet, 50 feet, 100 feet, etc.).

V. More Brainstorm Ideas

1. If school and students want to raise more money, they can raise enough pennies for two or three 300 foot penny stacks. Or they can use nickels or dimes… Do the math first, do not bite off more than you can chew (ie. raise the money).
2. Get creative – come up with your own ideas to operate and promote the program.

VI. Additional Ideas

1. Students create big posters and display them throughout their school. Ideas for posters include:

· Side by side (both statues side by side)

· Responsibility – What it Means to Me

1. Essay contest. Students write a paper, “Responsibility Is…”.
2. Student Quotes:

· In one word or two, “What Responsibility Means to Me”. Compile these into posters.

1. Math Work: Do computations of how many pennies in one foot, in their own height, height of teacher and principal, parents, height of their school, Statue of Responsibility. Do similar computations for nickels, dimes and quarters. Do a computation for how many pennies needed to fund entire monument project ($300,000,000.00).

5. Watch documentary videos on Statue of Liberty and Statue of Responsibility.

6. Read about Joseph Pulitzer and what he did to encourage school students to donate to build the foundation for the Statue of Liberty.

7. Write essay on the equation:

“Liberty + Responsibility = Our Freedom

8. Write essay on “What I can do to Be A Responsibility Citizen in a Free Democracy” or “Being a Responsible Student”.

9. Study the life of Dr. Viktor E. Frankl, man behind idea to build the Statue of Responsibility. Read and discuss his book, “Man’s Search for Meaning”.

10. Write report on Statue of Responsibility Foundation mission to build the monument, research the website, read and discuss the FAQ’s.

11. Encourage faculty in each home room that is participating create a short lesson plan/activity that relates to the ‘Pennies for Freedom’ program and their academic subject. Math, English, Social Studies, Art, Science, etc. remember to capture these on digital video and stills… This program, and the core message of the Statue of Responsibility, make perfect teaching topics for teachers and captivating learning situations for students.

12. Invite local community leaders to speak to classes (or hold assemblies) about freedom and how it is protected, what are the roles and duties and opportunities of citizens and students to protect freedom. In what ways is freedom protected. What is the connection between liberty and responsibility as they relate to freedom that Dr. Frankl was talking about.

VII. Conclusion

A small handful of select schools will be chosen to participate in this historic and educational (and exciting) project. Students will need to commit to a successful outcome. In time, all students and schools in America will watch the DVD documentary on how these pilot schools organized their “Pennies for Freedom” event. How they got support from fellow students, how they raised the money that stacked 300 feet tall, and how they created ‘buzz’ in the community including the local media.

It is a unique opportunity for school students across the nation to be involved in such an historic undertaking, the building of a companion monument to the Statue of Liberty. You are making history. Your children will read about you and your efforts in the cause to support freedom. You are creating a chapter in their history books, which they will read many years from now…

We congratulate you in your desire to help build the Statue of Responsibility.

Sincerely,

The Statue of Responsibility Foundation

Daniel Louis Bolz

President & CEO

www.SORfoundation.org

Note: Contact information for the following Foundation officials include:

· Foundation’s Public Relations Steering Committee Chair

· President & CEO of the Foundation

· Foundation’s Student Spokesman for the ‘Pennies for Freedom’ program

· Foundation’s film company

Contact information:

1. Tiffany Baron

Public Relations Steering Committee Chair, Statue of Responsibility Foundation

tiffany.baron@mac.com

2. Daniel Louis Bolz

President & CEO, Statue of Responsibility Foundation

dbolz@SORfoundation.org

801-990-3130

www.SORfoundation.org

3. Reese Haller (11 years old, Youngest Published Author in America)

Student Spokesman, ‘Pennies for Freedom’, Statue of Responsibility Foundation

reese@reesehaller.com and thomas@thomashaller.com (Reese’s father)

4. John Farr

CMG, Creative Media Group (SOR Foundation film crew)

john@cmgmedia.com