Pounds of prevention

-- Tariq Malik

Huntington Beach residents, students and police raised more than

$11,000 during the Pennies for Prevention campaign, which collected money

to fund anti-drug programs in local schools.

Organized through a cooperative effort between the Huntington Beach

Police Department, Project PATH, the Promoting Resources in Drug

Education Foundation and the city’s Coalition Against Substance Abuse,

the program gathered more than three tons of pennies, quarters and other

loose change.

For every pound of pennies donated, each participating school in

Huntington Beach City and Ocean View school districts earned $1 for their

drug prevention and awareness programs, with checks varying from $60 to

$600, officials said.

This was the first year police and anti-drug groups held the

fund-raiser, and they hope to make it an annual event, officials said.

“It just surpassed all our expectations,” said Sgt. Janet Perez, a

spokeswoman for the Huntington Beach Police Department.