It’s that time of year again when the community clears off dashboards, empties out jars and digs to the bottom of purses to help the United Way.
The 18 th annual Pennies for Change campaign kicked off in Thunder Bay Thursday morning. And because this year marks the end of the penny, United Way chair Walter Flasza said it’s a great way to put the change to work one last time .
“We’re just giving people an opportunity here to get rid of their pennies,” he said. “We’ll collect them, roil them and turn them in for a really good cause.”
The campaign has raised more than $310,000 since its start in 1995.
While there’s no particular goal in mind, Flazsa said they’re hoping for a spike in donations this year as people look for ways to rid themselves of pennies. It’s also a way to try and address needs in the community that are growing every day.
“We continue to look at the needs out there and those are growing pretty quickly,” he said.
“Just to collect as much as we can as quickly as we can,” Special events co-chair Mary McLellan said.
Throughout the year people can drop donations into milk cartons displayed throughout the city or even drop off change at the United Way office on Barton Street.
“It’s easy to contribute,” McLellan said. “It’s a no-brainer. It’s something that’s easy to do and feel like you’re contributing.”
The campaign will most likely need to be renamed next year.
“I kind of like change for change but we’ll talk about that next year,” Flasza said.
