Bring in pennies for Alzheimer Society

Are you ever really going to roll all those pennies in the change dish on your dresser? Or from that ever-filling jar on top of the fridge?
Well, the local Alzheimer Society is hoping families find a better use for those copper coins than just taking up space when its “Pennies for Your Thoughts Weigh-In” goes this Friday and Saturday at Safeway here and again Sunday at Cloverleaf ShopEasy in Emo.
The event, which will see individuals, families, groups, and businesses bring in as many pennies as they can to be weighed by—and then donated to—the Alzheimer Society, is a brand new fundraiser, said the executive director of the Kenora-Rainy River branch.
“I’d had the idea for a while, and this year just decided to do it,” Margaret Schonewille said last week from Kenora, noting the fundraiser mixes money that some people are more than willing to part with (pennies) with a sense of competitive spirit.
“It’s kind of fun,” she enthused, noting she had a great time doing the first weigh-in on Jan. 9-10 in Dryden, which saw just over 40 kg (90 pounds) of pennies donated.
A second weigh-in was held this past weekend in Kenora.
People are urged to bring their pennies to the local Safeway store between 4-9 p.m. on Friday or between 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, when volunteers from the Alzheimer Society will be on hand to weigh them.
It doesn’t matter if the pennies are rolled or loose, as they will be weighed in the same container in the spirit of fairness.
The weights then will be recorded on a chart, which will be made visible to fuel the sense of competition, said Schonewille.
“We want people to see if their neighbour brought in this many or that many pennies,” she noted.
The weigh-in Sunday at Cloverleaf-Shop Easy in Emo will run from noon-4 p.m.
Schonewille also said children, in particular, are encouraged to bring in those pennies. The first 100 children will get a gift certificate for French fries at McDonald’s, and all children will get a little treat just for coming out to the weigh-in.
“It’s encouraging that, through this, we can show children there’s still value in a penny,” she remarked.
Schonewille added she’d like to see businesses compete to see which brings in the most pennies, too.
This had happened in Dryden, where the Canadian Tire store there got wind that McKinstry Chrysler was collecting pennies, with the end result being the former business rounding up 22.58 kg (49.8 pounds) in pennies for the Alzheimer Society.
Schonewille noted there will be a prize for the individual, family, group, or business that brings in the most pennies, though she would not reveal what it is at this time.
Proceeds from the weigh-ins will be used locally, particularly to raise awareness of the disease and educate others on how to deal with it, stressed Schonewille.
This is done not only through advertising, but also home and workplace visits.
While they won’t be weighed like the pennies, other monetary donations, as well as Canadian Tire money, also will be welcome.
For more information of the weigh-ins, call the Alzheimer Society at 1-800-682-0245.