Special to the Pioneer Times
HOULTON – American Legion Post 47’s Penny Shopping Day proved to be a great success this year; the Women’s Auxiliary and Junior Members organized the event. On Saturday, Dec. 1, local children brought in their pennies by the bagfull to buy gifts for moms and dads or brothers and sisters. 
Pioneer Times photo/Jennifer Ruth
WRAP IT UP — Tammy Scott is seen here wrapping a gift for a young shopper during Saturday’s penny shopping day for kids at the American Legion Post 47 on Bangor Road. The annual event gives local children the opportunity to do some Christmas shopping for their parents at an affordable price. After the children picked out their gifts and donated their pennies, organizers working as “elves” wrapped and tagged the gifts to go under the Christmas tree.
The pennies collected were donated to the American Cancer Society, and this year Post 47 raised $100 in pennies. The event also included a craft and bake sale, which raised $90 to sponsor a veteran in the Golden Age Olympics.
Tammy Acott, of the Women’s Auxiliary, explained that 2007 was their most successful year with the project.
“The event was very successful,” Acott said, “I hope that next year we have even more kids, because the money goes to a worthy cause, and we had a lot of fun.”
Organizers were so overwhelmed with this year’s turnout, that auxiliary members had to go out and buy more items for their gift tables and restock their wrapping paper and gift tags.
Auxiliary members plan to buy gifts throughout the year in 2008, in order to be better prepared for next year’s event.
