Twin siblings, Samuel and Rebeca Piña are pictured with their My Coins Count donations at West Coast Mennonite Relief Sale & Auction in Fresno, Calif. The photo was taken in 2013 when the siblings were 7-years-old.
Fresno, Calif., -- For the last 10 years, twins Rebeca and Samuel Piña have donated half of their earned money from recycling cans and bottles to My Coins Count at the annual West Coast Mennonite Relief Sale and Auction.
This year they donated $226. A record giving for the 13-year-old twins.
The tradition started when the Piña twins helped with the family recycling as a household chore. Every few months, they would take all the cans and bottles collected to the local recycling center. Half of all money collected was saved for My Coins Count.
“Other kids need it more and I know that,” says Samuel.
“My kids are learning the value of giving to others,” shares Dina Gonzalez-Piña – twin’s mother. “Life is not just about yourself. Thinking of others is important in this life.” A meaningful life lesson that Rebeca and Samuel Piña demonstrate each year they choose to give to others through My Coins Count.
Coins collected in 2018 for My Coins Count added up to more than $488,346 for MCC’s work around the world. This year’s money collected at the West Coast Mennonite Relief Sale and Auction totaled $1,830. A special thank you to a generous donor who matched the donations to make a grand total of $3,660.
All donations went to providing basic food and sanitation items to displaced families in the DR Congo. MCC provided food staples (including corn flour, oil and beans) to Mennonite Brethren and Mennonite church partners – who distribute the items to 830 internally displaced households affected by the conflict and food shortages. MCC also provided hygiene kits for 1,000 women and girls across the three target areas in the DR Congo.
In 2017, to reduce the spread of cholera and other parasitic diseases, the Mennonite Brethren Church of Congo (CEFMC; Communauté des Églises de Frères Mennonites au Congo) helped construct latrines and rainwater collection/storage systems at 40 homes in the village of Mosho III, South Kivu. CEFMC is now working with Mosho III village to construct 24 latrines and install rainwater collection storage systems at two church-affiliated schools and a Mennonite Brethren church. Click here to learn more about MCC’s work in DR Congo and life-changing latrines in other areas of the world.
“My kids know that the money donated is going to helping others and they are glad to give,” says Gonzalez-Piña. Dina Gonzalez-Piña is currently serving with MCC as Ethnicity and Gender Equity Specialist.
Your coins and dollars can make a big difference too. Click here to learn more about how you can start collecting for My Coins Count.
