Giving that Old Piggy Bank a Shake

Throughout November 2019 we collected old coins and spare foreign currency to celebrate Rubicon's diversity. We collected any type of coin you could imagine; from drachma and euros to damaged pennies and old shillings. We hoped to show our community that they had the power to make a positive change through a very simple act: by donating their spare, unused coins to the campaign, everyone who donated was truly turning something forgotten into something great (just like the library!). After all the pennies were in, we were were able to send them off to be converted back into GBP.

The Coins Didn't Stop Coming In...

As our month of Forgotten coin collecting continued, we quickly realised that our  original target of 5 kgs was going to be too small. The community really got behind the idea; our collection buckets on reception quickly filled up. People who walked past on their commute were popping in to donate and we were even given large tins and buckets of 1 and 2 pence pieces that had been collected over the years. Our Rubicon dance groups were also a massive help to us, each group filling their forgotten coin envelopes and bringing them in to add to the total. 

We decided to set a new goal to collect 25 kgs!

Sorting and Counting

After our month long collection was over we had collected 28 kgs of coins due to the amazing generosity of our community and Rubicon dancers. Two of our lovely over 50's dancers, Val and Jillda, volunteered to help us sort the coins before we sent them off to be converted. It was an all day job but we had brilliant fun and uncovered some real gems!

We had never converted coins before so weren't sure what to expect, but to our amazement we had raised a grand total of £453.80! All the money raised from the Forgotten Coin Fundraiser will be going towards the renovation of Roath Library. We are still blown away with this result and would like to thank everyone who searched in forgotten places, donated, and volunteered their time.