From left: Past president Rotary Club of Barbados West Victor Roach, President (ag) Ian Hinds, Past President Denis Chandler and Rotarian and Chairman of Trustees Alzheimer’s Association Alkins Kirton do their part to fill up their bin as part of the One Cent Coin Drive.
Coins continue to flow
9/20/2012
THE steady flow of one-cent coins continues across the island and the vision of one local charity continues to take shape.
On Tuesday night, members of the Rotary Club of Barbados West reaffirmed their commitment to this worthy cause as club members made their contribution to the collection bin during a meeting held at Bagatelle Great House.
According to past president Victor Roach, the club was initially approached by the Central Bank to come on board with this project and the rest, as they say, is history. The project has snowballed into a collection drive that is bringing one cent coins from off the shelves of householders into the many distinctive bins scattered across Barbados.
The Bank is seeking to recover five million cents ($50 000) that are currently out of circulation, in lieu of making new coins which are worth less than the cost of production. The beneficiary of the funds will be the Barbados Alzheimer’s Association, and will be used to construct a respite facility, for those persons afflicted with Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s affects over 3 000 persons in Barbados.
On Friday, National Alzheimer’s Day, a National Collection Drive will be held in Heroes Square, in the City. Members of the Rotary Club and the Alzheimer’s Association will make their way through wider Bridgetown collecting coins as part of the packed day of events.
It was noted that some persons are putting higher denominations than one cent in the bins, but this is to be encouraged, since this will ultimately increase the amount of funds raised by the Alzheimer’s association.
Workplaces are being urged to collect their employees’ one cents on that day, or persons may drop them off in Heroes Square where collection bins will be mounted from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
The Alzheimer’s Association will also be on site distributing literature, and the day will feature a line-up of popular performers including Kid Site, Duck, Popsicle, John King, Willie Kerr, Mexican Arthur and Blood.
The Government, the Barbados Private Sector Association, the Small Business Association, the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Barbados Employers’ Confederation are all participating in the initiative. They are encouraging their members and/or employees to donate their cents on Friday; however, the drive will continue until the end of the year. (JH)
