Winnipeg charities pine for pennies
Winnipeg business may not want your pennies anymore, but local charities sure do.
Starting Monday, the Royal Canadian Mint will no longer distribute Canada's one-cent coin.
The penny will still be legal currency, but Canadian retailers don't have to give them out in change
Villa Rosa, a residence for prenatal and postnatal care for young women or new mothers in need, is looking for some of those unwanted pennies and has started a penny drive.
Executive director Kathy Strachan said the money raised will help pay for extras such as deodorant and body lotion,
"the kinds of things that a lot of people just take for granted but we don't have a budget line for," she said.
"Some of our young moms who come in don't have all the supplies they need to get them through their pregnancy and day-to-day living," she said.
Strachan said people dropping off pennies don't have to roll them first.
"We hope to raise a thousand dollars," she said. "And that's going to take some rolling! I think we're going to have to have a rolling party, but that would be a good problem to have."
Pennies can be dropped off at Villa Rosa at 784 Wolseley Ave.
Penny drives can add up: last year, Winnipeg seniors' residence All Seniors Care raised $1,721.28 in pennies for Winnipeg Harvest.
In a separate, national drive that also took place last year, the chain raised $5,379.87 among the 18 locations across Canada. Winnipeg's All Seniors Care came in third.
