Coldwell Banker in Monroeville, Pa., donated the bank to the local Easter Seals.

Coldwell Banker in Monroeville, Pa., donated the bank to the local Easter Seals.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
ome folks want to break the piggy bank, but this group is working to get it back together.
Penny's new owners at the local Easter Seals office decided that this compact car-sized pig was beginning to show her age -- holes marked her ears and underbelly, and the folk-art look was a bit outdated.
So, they called in a group that could give her fiberglass shell a little 21st-century style: teenagers.
Students at the Mahoning County Career & amp; Technical Center are working to have Penny ready for her makeover debut Oct. 25 at the first Walk With Me event sponsored by Easter Seals of Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.
Thursday, students in the aviation maintenance technology program peered at a rectangular door under Penny's snout. The fiberglass-patched corners would have to be ground down before hinges were added.
"We weren't expecting it. We never work on pigs," said Robert Doepker, a South Range senior in the aviation maintenance technology program.
"It was different," added West Branch senior Jason Yonkey. "It was no plane but we still did fiberglass work."
The perfect shade
Above them, students in the interactive multimedia/visual design arts program rolled paint over Penny's rump and chubby belly - in a perfect pinkish-peachish pig color.
The goal is to make Penny look like a real pig. They'll add opened eyes (the old Penny batted her eyelashes) and detail the feet and ears and the snout through which Penny collects her cents.
Laura Burgess, a West Branch senior, said she likes to help out.
"We can all learn from each other," she said, adding that the group has helped out with other charity events. "It's fun stuff."
"People take things for granted," added Boardman senior Anthony Boggs. "It's kind of nice to be nice every once in a while."
Touted as "the world's largest piggy bank," Penny was donated to Easter Seals by Coldwell Banker in Monroeville, Pa., after the nonprofit group had borrowed her from the bank for 16 years at its annual spring Drive for Dough campaign, said Jodi Harmon, director of marketing and development for the local organization that serves people in Boardman, Youngstown and Warren who are disabled or have special needs.
Besides the makeover, the MCCTC students will install a ledge inside Penny's belly to help stabilize the bucket that collects pennies and other change.
Waiting patiently
Penny was hauled to MCCTC on her picket-fence bordered trailer and awaits her return to public life amid the planes in the aviation department. Her official hauler is Greenwood Chevrolet.
Aviation teacher Scott Rowe tossed out an "if pigs could fly" laugh Thursday before he circled around Penny a couple times, warning the painters to avoid the still-damp fiberglass patch on her left ear.
"That color is absolutely perfect," he said.
It should be. An MCCTC maintenance worker who also owns a farm picked out the piglike color, said Melissa Hackett, teacher of the multimedia program.
Hackett said her students have helped out the Easter Seals group before, making signs and other items for charity events. She said it's important for students to learn that service can be as rewarding as monetary gain.
"I just think you need to give back to the community," she said. "As much as you learn ... you should be able to give back and as a career person, you should be able to give back."
viviano@vindy.com