It’s the final countdown for Cochranites to donate their pennies to the local ‘Ton of Pennies’ initiative.
Money is being collected for local TriOil Soccer Quest 42 — which seeks to break the Guinness Book of Records for the longest game of five-a-side soccer Oct. 5. The Soccer Quest 42 will be raising money for African aid, through marathon man Martin Parnell’s Right to Play charity.
The pennies will be counted at ATB Financial, following their arrival around noon Sept. 28 at the local branch, accompanied by the Cochrane Posse and RCMP, who will guard the strongbox atop horse-drawn chuckwagon as they arrive for a final penny count.
“We are challenging the community of Cochrane to bring their remaining pennies to ATB on Friday and really put this thing over the top,” said event facilitator, Alex Baum of Cochrane Toyota.
Baum said there is a good chance the Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty, will be able to attend the Cochrane ceremony, as it was he who challenged communities across Canada last May to find a local charity to donate their pennies to.
Baum said he hopes Flaherty will be able to drop the last penny into the pot before the final weigh-in takes place.
The Cochrane initiative is the most successful penny collecting venture country-wide, according to Baum, who said they have already surpassed their goal of a ton of pennies (2,000 pounds).
“That’s Cochrane for you — you just put the word out and time and time again, the people here show up and pull through,” said Baum. “Everything we raised will be tripled through Right to Play.”
Guy’s Cafe will be on site serving up refreshments as event organizers express their gratitude to all Cochrane and area participants who took their time to cart their now-discontinued steel cents to local businesses accepting donations for the cause.
