Campaigns
Your Change Changes Lives
We get the majority of our funding through the great British public generously donating their loose change via collection boxes. So we thought we’d do some investigating and find out exactly how much loose change the average person carries on them, and whether they donate any of this to charity.
The stats
Our survey of 2,000 people from across the UK shows that over half (57%) of people in the UK have £1 to £10 of loose change with them at any one time, but only 7% choose to donate any of the money they have lying around to charity.
The survey revealed that instead of giving the loose change they collect to charity, people are most likely to leave it stored in a jar (47%), use it to pay for parking (13%), use it on themselves to go shopping (9%) or just leave it piling up at home for at least a few months (8%).
However, when asked if they would be willing to donate to charity and how often, most people would choose to donate monthly. Of those surveyed, almost half (42%) of people from Scotland were likely to donate to charity each month, followed closely with around a third by people from the North East (36%) and from the South West (34%), ranging to around a quarter by people from the North West (25%), from Wales (24%) and from the East of England (23%), stating that they would donate loose change to charity each month.
The story
Vikki Chester-Walsh family who stayed at the Ronald McDonald House Oxford when her daughter Mollie who was born with craniosynastosis, meaning that she was at risk of developing intracranial pressure which could lead to seizures, brain damage or even death, said: “The Charity does an incredible job and without it I’m not sure how we would have coped. Being a stone’s throw away from the hospital meant we spent as much of our time as possible supporting Mollie on a daily basis and could be there for every step of the recovery process. The Ronald McDonald House allowed us to stay together as a family and we will forever be grateful. I would encourage anyone who wants to donate to a charity that they consider Ronald McDonald House Charities, as your loose change really makes a difference to families just like ours.”
Jon Haward, Director of Ronald McDonald House Charities, said: “Going to a hospital far from home can be a frightening experience for a child. For the family it can mean financial devastation, splitting the family unit and even sleeping in cars to ensure they can be close to their seriously ill child to provide support and comfort. There is therefore a great need for family accommodation, so we build Ronald McDonald Houses as close to the hospital as possible. We need your support to help make this happen and urge you to think about using some of your loose change to help change people’s lives rather than leaving it in a jar at home. We at Ronald McDonald House Charities know how every penny can really make a difference to people just like the Chester-Walsh family.”
To donate, consider dropping your loose change in a collection box at your local McDonald’s, or donate via this website.
Some coverage
Here is just some of the online coverage we have got for this campaign… (this story has been picked up by over 60 different titles so far…)
Third Sector
Guardian
The Oxford Journal - South East
Yorkshire Evening Post - Yorkshire & Humberside
Haven Hill Echo - East Anglia
This is South Wales - Wales
Warwick Courier - West Midlands
Hartlepool Mail - North East