Greg Mortenson, the co-founder and executive producer of the Central Asia Institute, has worked in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 1993, and since 1996, he has been doing his work through the Central Asia Institute. The Central Asia Institute builds schools, helps existing schools, and encourages young women to stay in school.

At last count, the Central Asia Institute has started 145 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan while also implementing scholarships and teacher training programs.

Pennies for Peace was started by a group of students who wanted to help Greg Mortenson build schools in Pakistan. The students collected 62,345 pennies or $623.45. Today, thousands of school participate in Pennies for Peace from kindergarten up through high school, and the program has grown to include age-appropriate classroom materials so that teachers can integrate Pennies for Peace into their lesson plans.

To learn more about Pennies for Peace, go to http://www.penniesforpeace.org/, and go to http://www.pearsonfoundation.org/penniesforpeacetoolkit/ to look through the Pennies for Peace toolkit and find out how you can bring Pennies for Peace to your school and community.