Santo Cupelli, who on Saturday would have celebrated his 24th wedding anniversary to wife Brenda, hopes to turn a sackful of pennies into a symbol of hope and a national fundraising campaign.

"A penny saved is a penny that could save someone from ALS," said Cupelli, whose first name means saint in Italian. Cupelli, who lost his wife in September 2001, recently found a bag of pennies that he had been collecting since the two were first married.

He counted every one, to a total of $300, and handed the money over to the ALS Society of Alberta, which helped Brenda in her dying days.

"I just thought I had no use for these small pieces of change," Cupelli said he told the society, which he hopes will turn his donation into a national fundraising campaign in Brenda's memory.

"My family, friends and community journeyed with my wife as she suffered through, and eventually succumbed to, ALS. The grace that was shown to our family by the ALS society, by all those who spent time with Brenda and by all those who financially contributed to keep Brenda in a safe and happy home was phenomenal.

"The generosity of spirit will live forever in our hearts."

Brenda Cupelli's fight against ALS was well known to residents in Okotoks, where the couple lived.

The 1999 Sheep River Road Race was dedicated to her, and raised $10,000 for the ALS cause.

As many as 600 residents participated in the event, including Brenda, a former marathon runner and flamenco dancer, who was pushed five kilometres in her wheelchair.

ALS is a motor-neuron disorder that affects three out of every 100,000 Canadians.

People with ALS eventually become paralysed and are unable to swallow, speak, or even breathe.

Although her disease had rapidly progressed and she could barely eat or communicate, Brenda participated in the race the next year, too.

Her devoted husband now hopes her generous spirit and memory will live on through a national penny fundraising campaign.

"My guess is there are millions of dollars in pennies just sitting there doing nothing," he said, encouraging others to dig their pennies out of their piggy banks and give them to the ALS society.

"There is a lot of power in copper."

Copyright © 2002 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.