Coin Collection Tops $230,000!

We began our spare change collection in 2011 with just a few jugs at the registers for folks to drop their coins into, and ever since the generosity of our shoppers has never ceased to amaze us. In just eight years we have managed to collect $236,414.90 for many great nonprofits in the San Francisco and Oakland areas. A collection of $3,736.69 in June benefited our local UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital; July racked up $4,083.11 for the Children’s Book Project; and our friends at Lava Mae, who provide showers for the homeless, will receive $5,528.68 from our August donations. Our September fundraising is earmarked for SaveNature.Org’s traveling hands-on Insect Discovery Lab that allows children of all ages to explore up close the fantastic lives of beetles, millipedes, tarantulas, walking sticks, and more. Educational and fun! We’ll report on that number in November.

The month of October is breast cancer awareness month, and our collection that month will benefit our friends at Bay Area Young Survivors (BAYS) who offer monthly support group meetings with free childcare, an active online network, and community-building events for young people with breast cancer in the Bay Area.

There are many national organizations that do great work across the country, but we created Coins for the Community so that the money donated here could stay here to help our community. Our local nonprofits often work on shoestring budgets, so these funds can make a real impact on their programs. We’ll be hearing from some of them in the near future on how they put the money they receive to good use. Stay tuned!

It’s easy to donate to Coins for the Community. Simply drop your spare change into our collection jars or choose the “Donate” option when you’re checking out at any of our registers. Or bring in that old jar of pennies that’s been collecting dust on your dresser!