Picking up pennies is said to bring good luck. Janine Dzuba hopes it will go a long way in improving children’s health.

The West Virginia University student is asking community members to join her in building aMile of ChangeWednesday, April 19, to benefit Rx for Child Survival, a national campaign to increase awareness about global child health issues.

Dzuba and other WVU students plan to stretch 5,280 feet of masking tape along sidewalks, starting at 8 a.m. in Woodburn Circle . From there, the tape will go down University Avenue , across Willey Street, south on High Street and end at the Monongalia County Courthouse.

People are encouraged to fill the tape with pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. The money raised will be sent to Rx for Child Survival.

Eleven million children under the age of 5 die every year of preventable illnesses, Dzuba said.

Contributions will enable international humanitarian organizations to provide antibiotics to fight pneumonia, insecticide-treated netting to protect against mosquitoes, oral rehydration packets to reduce diarrhea-related illnesses and deaths, vaccinations to fight measles and tetanus, and vitamin A and other micronutrients to help fight infection and prevent nutritional deficiencies.

It only costs pennies to save lives,Dzuba said.

To learn more about Rx for Child Survival, go towww.pbs.org/wgbh/rxforsurvival/campaign/.