Each year for the last eight years, the students of Lone Oak Elementary School of Paducah, Kentucky, have participated in a penny war, where the kids bring in pennies and other coins to be donated to charity.
And this year, second grader Ryleigh Stephenson made a huge impact by showing up with 40,000 pennies.
All the money raised goes to Nate’s Wish, which gives fun backpacks to children in the hospital.
Ryleigh was inspired to do all she could for those kids, so she worked with her dad – as well as the Tooth Fairy – to bring in as much cash as possible.
She urged her dad to get his co-workers to donated pennies to her. And, after she lost a tooth, the Tooth Fairy chipped in with a bag of pennies, as well as two dimes.
When the event was all over, the school donated more than $25,000 to Nate’s Wishes.
And, Ryleigh had so much fun collecting all those pennies that she’s already started collecting for next year.
See More Here: WPSD-TV