AGE:
16
FAMILY:
Parents Sandy and Brett
Freedman
PETS:
“Kismet,” a Havanese puppy;
three rabbits
INTERESTS:
Dancing, reading, writing poetry
FAVORITE BANDS:
Eve 6 and Goo Goo Dolls
FAVORITE FOODS:
Brownie sundaes, milkshakes and
chocolate

It all started with a shirt.

Samantha Freedman was in a store several years ago when she saw a shirt with the word “water” on the back. Proceeds from the sale of the shirt benefitted a charity working to give people access to clean water. Samantha, “Sam” to her friends, bought the shirt. But that is not all she did. The Mt. Laurel teenager started a local chapter of WaterAid America. She called it “Pennies to Purity.”

“Throughout the world, 2.6-billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation and over one billion people don’t have access to safe water,” said Freedman. She said that the money she is helping to raise would build sanitation facilities and educate individuals about how to access clean water in 17 African, Asian, and Pacific-region countries.

“I want to make a difference in people’s lives,” said Freedman, a junior at Lenape High School who hopes to one day go into the neuroscience field either as a doctor or researcher.

So far, Pennies to Purity has raised nearly $700. Freedman raised the money by painting pottery to sell at Cong. M’kor Shalom’s Chanukah bazaars. She is a student in the synagogue’s post- Confirmation class. Not limiting her sales to the Jewish community, she also painted Christmas ornaments to sell at Lenape High School’s craft shows. “I’ve also collected money at football games.”

Freedman is hoping to reach her goal of raising $2,000 by teaming up with Whole Foods on Rt. 73 in Marlton. Through December, the market is featuring Pennies to Purity as part of its “Nickels for Non-Profits” campaign. Every time a shopper reuses a bag, he or she is given a wooden nickel. By dropping the nickel into a basket for a select charity, Whole Foods donates a nickel on the shopper’s behalf. “Every penny makes a difference,” said Freedman.

“Pennies to Purity” is not Freedman’s only charitable effort. She recently founded “Students Together Against Cancer” (STAC) to raise funds and awareness about cancer at her school. “I’ve seen cancer affect the lives of others.”

When she is not involved in school and charity work, Freedman loves to dance. She also writes poetry and is about to have her first poem published. “Naïveté For Dignity” will appear in the December issue of “The Living Poets Society” magazine.

Freedman is also a swimming instructor and lifeguard at the Katz JCC. “I love working with little kids,” she said. Freedman said that it is such a great feeling to teach a child how to swim and then watch him swim for the first time. .