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Miles of Change
 
Students Set New Guinness World Record
With 65 Mile Chain of Pennies
 
The generosity of heart and spirit made it possible for THINK Together's students and their families, our staff and generous fans to lay down a 65-mile chain of pennies on the racetrack at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA, on March 25th; and, in doing, so set a new Guinness World Record for the longest chain of pennies.  Youth in Fort Scott, Kansas set the previous record with a 40 mile penny chain last summer.
 
In February, THINK Together's students had set out to collect 100 miles of pennies, at least 8.5 million, in honor of the Centennial of the Abraham Lincoln Penny.  It appears they collected nearly 16 million pennies and then used 5,491,720 of the coins to lay down the 65 mile chain!

Along the way they learned about Abraham Lincoln, the power of team work, money and money management, and a little math and science too!

Click to view TV News Coverage of the event on YouTube.  The students were even featured on a video screen in New York's Times Square.

To see representative print news coverage of the event visit:
 
 
Press-Enterprise
By JULIE FARREN - Sean Taylor had been working for a half-hour Wednesday afternoon and was close to laying all 1600 pennies in his box on the track...
- Press-Enterprise:  Slide Show 
- Press-Enterprise:  Video
 
OC Register
By EUGENE W. FIELDS - Children in an after-school program hoped to earn a spot Wednesday in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest continuous...
- OC Register:  Slide Show
-OC Register:  Video (includes time lapsed photography)
 

THINK:  Teaching, Helping, Inspiring & Nurturing Kids

California is home to 13% of America's students.  By the age of 18, students of color and students living in poverty (roughly half of California's students) are performing five grade levels below their peers.  And drop-out rates in our larger urban areas are nearing 50%.  This achievement gap is one of the most serious civil rights issues we face today.  Its impacts on our economy grow greater with each year.  But at THINK Together we have proof it can change for the better.  And we are dedicated to helping all students realize their full potential. 

THINK Together started as a humble volunteer effort, in a gang-infested neighborhood, designed to keep kids safe and provide expanded learning in the hours after school.  The demand for THINK Together's award-winning programs has grown.  This year alone, we'll work with 35,000 students located at more than 200 sites in communities throughout Southern California.