UNICFE Change for Good – By Sabrina Ho
unicef change for good - by sabrina ho
The Community Outreach Committee organised an appeal for loose coins in the summer to donate to the UNICEF Change for Good programme.
The Office was inundated with bags of coins and members were invited to help with sorting and counting. We did not expect the overwhelming response and totally underestimated the task at hand.
Some members brought their children and school friends to help, as this turned out to be an educational experience. One mother commented that children mostly use Octopus for payment these days and handling coins is a novelty for them. For children, each foreign coin they see is a geography lesson. Other members indulged in a bit of nostalgia over travelling when they saw coins from far-flung countries as well as favourite destinations. There is no doubt that our members are well-travelled across the globe – from Russia to Swaziland, Belize to Solomon Islands, and a lot of countries and jurisdictions in between. All volunteers had a lot of fun identifying currencies, and a magnifying glass was definitely an essential tool.
So here is the Loose Change Appeal by numbers:
- Total of 16,531 coins
- Weighing 78 kg
- 50 currencies in circulation and 10 pre-Euro currencies
- 111 man hours to sort and count
- 5,014 Hong Kong coins, the most of any currency
- 2,353 Hong Kong 20 cent coins, the most of any denomination
- Most importantly, the circulatable coins have a value of HK$28,000!
Huge thank you to donors and volunteers who spent three Saturday mornings and a couple of afternoons sorting and counting.
No participant of the Quiz got all answers correct. However, four participants had three out of four correct answers, and after drawing lots the winner is Ms. Christina Mak. Hope you enjoy afternoon tea with a friend!
The COC Upcycling Group will try to make something out of the non-circulatable coins. A few old coins are also kept back for silent auction at a future date. All proceeds will go to The Helena May’s charity fund to support worthy causes. So watch this space!
Sabrina Ho
Vice Chair of Council and Honorary Treasurer
COC member
