Final penny tally: 2,897 pounds of coins for the Cochrane ‘Ton of Pennies’ initiative, which culminated in a ceremony in front of Cochrane ATB Financial Sept. 28.
This exceeded the original goal of one ton (2,000 pounds); the dollar amount is still being counted.
Emceed by Dan Kroffat, the afternoon entailed four Cochrane Cobras players weighing the seemingly endless jugs of pennies, as brought in atop horse-drawn wagon by Alex Baum of Cochrane Toyota, accompanied by Cochrane RCMP and members of the Cochrane Posse.
As the pennies were weighed, speeches were given by Deputy Mayor Joann Churchill, Banff-Cochrane MLA Ron Casey and several other project leaders and community members.
The drive for stained-copper donations was prompted Canada-wide by Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty last May, urging Canadians to rustle up their pennies and pool them for their favourite charities.
Cochrane led the way in the Canada-wide drive. The charity of choice? Soccer Quest 42 — one of the five quests through marathon man, Martin Parnell’s global charity, Right To Play, which seeks to raise funds for children in third world countries to play sports.
The quest kicks off at the Spray Lake Sawmills Centre Oct. 5, beginning at 6 p.m.
The goal for Soccer Quest 42 (for children in West Africa) is $25,000; the pennies are being counted this week to add to the tally for the quest, which so far sits at over $20,000; this includes a recent $5,000 donation from Cochrane Minor Soccer. Each dollar raised will be leveraged through Right To Play to equal $4 to be given to those in need.
