Deeds for Dollars pays off for PAL
MEMORIAL PARK — Kids here learned the value of a dollar Thursday as they hustled for bargains at the Police Activities League’s end-of-summer sale, a one-day event in which youth could spend their hard-earned cash on everything from school supplies and remote control cars, to jewelry, sweatshirts — even a portable DVD player and an iPod Nano.
The sale, which drew roughly 15 kids ranging in age from 6 to 17, was the grand finale of “Deeds for Dollars,” an eight-week program in which youth participating in PAL earned money for performing chores around the recreational center.
Some volunteered to wash dishes and sweep floors while others helped PAL staff run programs, including art and cooking classes. For each hour of work, or each task completed, the kids earned a “Good Deed Dollar,” which they deposited in a bank account at PAL, and watched their savings grow.
Kids withdrew their entire savings to buy merchandise donated by PAL employees, Santa Monica Police officers and volunteers. And the items weren’t cheap. Some of the goods included $25 gift cards to Old Navy, Foot Locker and AMC Theatres, free food at Tacos Por Favor, binoculars, sweat-shirts and mini-basketball hoops.
“From the youngest to the oldest, all of these kids worked really hard,” said PAL volunteer Judy LaPatka, who gives cooking lessons to kids, ages 6 through 10.“It’s so wonderful to see them having so much fun shopping. Most of them have never had the opportunity to even buy things on their own or to save any money. This gives them the opportunity to learn about what it takes to make money, how hard it is to save it and how important it is to spend wisely.”
PAL volunteers said the Deeds for Dollars program, in its first year of existence, caught on so fast that volunteer Jeff Rochlin had to go back to his personal mint and print several series of deed dollars. Some kids managed to raise more than $100 doing deeds around PAL.
Karina Ortiz was one of them. She said she took advantage of every opportunity she could to rake in the dough.
“This has been really cool,” Ortiz said. “We learned a lot about the value of money, how to save for what you want, and we got to see what it’s like to actually have a job, well, sort of.”
The somewhat shy, but intelligent 13-year-old wore a smile a mile wide as she clutched her deed dollars and browsed the various tables loaded with merchandise. A few notebooks and binders caught her eye as did the portable DVD player, which, along with the iPod digital music player, were prizes offered to the winners of a raffle.
“I want to win that DVD player,” Ortiz said. “But I’ve got to get my mom something first.”
Amado Sernes had his eyes on the DVD player as well. Sernes said he earned more than $50 cleaning up after art classes.
“This is awesome,” he said as he surveyed the room, contemplating his first purchase. “There’s a lot of great stuff here. I can’t believe so many people donated this.”
While splurging during the shopping spree is allowed, Sernes said the deeds program taught him that saving money is important to achieve future goals. He’s also looking forward to putting some of his allowance away for a rainy day.
“You can’t overspend,” he said. “You can’t go out and party, just throwing money around. You’ve got to conserve.”
Lt. Natalie Dewberry, a PAL staff member who helped initiative the program, said she would like to see kids do good deeds all year long, but if PAL can offer a little something in return, why not.
“It’s more than just paying them to do something,” Dewberry said. “We are teaching them the importance of helping others while at the same time given them skills to open up their own bank account, manage their money while collaborating with others to get the job done.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 25, 2006. Read the original PDF.