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A penny here, a penny there

Date published: 6/24/2007

BY RACHANA DIXIT

Stafford resident Charles Randall keeps a 5-gallon water cooler in his house half full--not with water, but pennies.

Having collected spare change for about six years, he said he probably has close to $1,000.

"It's extra money when I need it," Randall said. "I like to collect them."

Now, instead of just keeping a giant jar of pennies in his house, Randall has shifted his efforts to raising $10,000, or 1 million pennies, for Hospice Support Care in Fredericksburg. The drive, called "Pennies for Hospice Support Care: Every Penny Helps," began in April and has collected close to $800 in donations.

"This is going to be fabulous for us," said Judy Murphy, executive director for Hospice Support Care.

The organization, which has been in Fredericksburg for 25 years and functions mostly on community donations, is a nonmedical hospice that provides patient and family care, as well as support groups. Murphy said the money raised from the project will go toward those program services.

"Fundraising is very important to us; people just don't have the discretionary income that they used to," Murphy said.

Randall said he realized about three years ago that he wanted to help those who use the hospice's services. He discovered the hospice thrift store when he was going to get more seed for his cockatiels at Parrot Domain two doors down. Now he goes there every day to help.

"I'm in there two to four hours a day," he said.

Murphy said, "We have a lot of traffic that goes through our thrift shop. It's amazing how quickly the jars are filling up over there."

But what really made Randall want to do the penny drive was after he walked into a local Wawa and saw square plastic containers full of pennies.

"I thought, if they could do it, I could do it," Randall said.

Now, whether he's at the thrift store or not, he pulls a red wagon along for the pennies to go in.

"Where I go, the wagon goes with me," Randall said.

Even before the drive started two months ago, Randall collected about $500 in two weeks. He said Hospice Support Care was astounded.

"Their eyes opened up," he said. "After they saw I could collect that within two weeks, what could I do in a year?"

The drive will end next April, when the next Magnolia Ball will be held. Murphy said it could go on longer. But Randall doesn't think so.

"I don't think we're going to have to go past a year, at the rate we're going," he said.

WHERE: Magnolia's Hospice Thrift Store on Lafayette Boulevard or at the hospice administrative office on Fall Hill Avenue. WHEN: Regular business hours INFO: hospicesupportcare.org

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Date published: 6/24/2007