“Be the change in the world you wish to see.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
Location
108 ½ 8th St. W Harvey, ND
Hours TBD
About Us
The Penny House is a nonprofit organization to aims to provide junior high and high school students a safe place to interact with their peers
Our mission is to inspire confidence and leadership in students by providing them a place to flourish Link to promo video
The Penny House operates as a space created by teens for teens. This value is accomplished by having student representatives serve on our board of directors
The Board of Directors: Tyler Larson, President and Executive Director; Spencer Marchand, Vice President; Quincy Marchand, Treasurer and Secretary; Nicole Franklin, director; Sara Schindler, director; Jeffrey Robison, New Life representative board member
The Advisory Student Board: Tristan Franklin, Michael Schindler, Christian Swang
Our Story
The idea for the Penny House came on a cold December night in 2014. Three friends sat in a hot tub in a small North Dakota town reflecting that there wasn’t much to do and even fewer places to do it. The suggestion that rural North Dakota had higher underage drinking rates because of teen boredom didn’t seem too far off the mark. After two years of bringing people together and hard work, the goal of opening a place for teens to hang out free from the pressures of risky behavior was accomplished. In February of 2017, the Penny House officially opened its doors to the youth of Harvey offering video games, table games, and space to just be with friends.
After three and a half successful years in Harvey, the spread of COVID-19 and Governor Burgum’s decision to move schools online prompted the Penny House to close its doors in March of 2020. Shortly after, the building we were operating out of was put up for sale and we had to find a new home.
As one door closes however, another typically opens and in July of 2020 the Penny House opened a temporary location in Grand Forks upon receiving grant money from the GF Mainstreet Initiative. We operated out of the Columbia Mall for the rest of 2020 and into 2021 until our funding ran out. It was a neat experience to serve the large community of Grand Forks for the better part of a year!
Around the same time that the Grand Forks location opened, the Penny House found a new home in an unused apartment above New Life on Main in Harvey. The space needed some serious work as it still had bright pink and green shag carpet from another era! Four years of roadblocks and hard work by a small team has the space looking fresh and ready to provide the youth of Harvey a safe, fun experience. We look forward to inviting you into our new location very soon!
How You Can Make A Change
If you find value in our mission and would like to make a change, we would love to welcome you as one of our many supporters! There are a few different ways you can help us provide a safe place for ND teens:
Donations – Donations of talent or treasure are always welcomed and appreciated! We have several raffles or fundraising events throughout the year where you can donate personally created items, in-kind gifts, or cash. If you’d like to give now, we have venmo (add Venmo handle) or you send your support to PO Box 167 Larimore, ND 58251.
Volunteering – You can also donate your time by volunteering to manage the Penny House for a day. Please find the link on the Volunteer Calendar to submit your information and times you’d be available to volunteer!