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Spare Change Can Make a Difference |
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Written by ARA Content
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Kids Can Donate Coins to Help Those in Need (ARA) – Teaching kids the value of helping those in need is an important part of raising a child. One of the keys is to frame the lesson in terms a child can understand, and to make it an enjoyable experience.
The Coins that Count donation program from Coinstar is a great example of a project that is fun for kids and helps others in the process. You’ve probably seen Coinstar’s self-service coin-counting machines in your local supermarket. But you may not know that the machines are not only a convenient way to count and redeem your loose change for cash, they are also a fast, easy way to donate to both national and local organizations.
The company’s founders recognized that its simple-to-use technology could lend critical support to charitable causes by collecting and counting donations of loose coins. Since its introduction eight years ago, Coins that Count has grown from processing approximately $200,000 per year in 1997 to processing more than $3 million in 2004. Most recently, the program collected more than $500,000 for the victims of Hurricane Katrina -- and the donations are still coming in.
“A big part of what makes this program successful is how easy it is, both for the charitable organizations and for the donors,” says Dave Cole, chief executive officer of Coinstar, Inc. With more than 12,000 locations, Coinstar has a machine within five miles of 75 percent of the U.S. population -- so you won’t have to go far to donate your change. The machines are easy to operate for children and adults; just select the “donate” option at the beginning of the transaction, and follow the on-screen prompts to select the non-profit partner of your choice from the list provided. Then pour in your change and Coinstar will count the coins and provide you with a tax-deductible receipt for your records.
Using loose change to make a donation means that it is accessible for kids who want to use their allowance or money they may have collected specifically for this purpose. “We are always touched by the generosity of children,” said Kathleen Loehr, interim senior vice president of development at the American Red Cross. “One of the most heartwarming donations we received was a Coinstar donation receipt representing a single penny from a child who sent it along with a note that read, ‘When my house burned down, the Red Cross helped us, so I wanted to send you my lucky penny.’”
And if you think that your spare change won’t make a difference, the experts at Coinstar estimate that there’s more than $10.5 billion in loose change in jars and drawers -- and who knows where else -- in U.S. households. That’s a lot of lucky pennies. Imagine what even a fraction of that amount would mean to any of Coinstar’s charitable partners.
Coinstar Centers are the only coin counting machines that offer this service. Since 1997 Coinstar has collected more than $15 million for charitable organizations. The national nonprofit organizations that are part of the program are The American Red Cross, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, The March of Dimes, The U.S. Fund for UNICEF and World Wildlife Fund.
To find a Coinstar Center near you with the Coins that Count program, visit www.coinstar.com.
Courtesy of ARA Content
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