AUBURN – During an episode of “Zoom, the Zoomers” talked about kids raising money for other people in need. After watching the episode, Bradley Sperl, 6, decided he wanted to have a penny drive to raise money for kids who lost their toys in a house fire. He decorated a tin bucket with pictures of toys and made a sign that read “Penny Drive for Toys.”

Sperl started his penny drive at Grace Lutheran Church where he is a member. He stood up during announcements and told the congregation what he was doing. And then the pennies rolled in. They came in plastic zip lock baggies … they came in penny rolls … and they came in as single pennies. He even received pennies (and some toys) from as far away as Florida.

In total Sperl raised $130. The difficult part was trying to decide who was going to be the recipient. His family knew about Catholic Charities Maine and asked if they would be able to distribute toys to kids who had lost theirs in a fire. They were told that the mission of the Toy Box was exactly that. So Sperl decided to go shopping and buy some toys with the money he had raised.

He had a lot of fun shopping and picking out toys that he hoped other kids would enjoy. In the end he filled two large shopping bags that he personally delivered to the Toy Box with his grandmother, Donna Berry. Sperl is a kindergartner at the Shaw Hill School in Minot.