Thousands of tiny donations made at shop tills have added up to an impressive £22,000 for communities affected by devastating earthquakes in Venezuela.
Customers and members shopping at Scotmid, Semichem and Lakes & Dales Co op stores raised the money for the Disasters Emergency Committee Venezuela Earthquake Appeal in just four weeks.
The fundraising worked through Pennies, the digital charity box which gives customers paying by card or digital wallet the option of adding just 10p to their purchase.
Individually it is the sort of donation most people would barely notice leaving their bank account.
Collectively, those 10p contributions have turned into £22,000.
The DEC appeal was launched following two devastating earthquakes in Venezuela which caused widespread destruction and left thousands of people dead or injured.
DEC charities and their local partners are providing emergency support to affected communities, including shelter, food, clean water and medical care.
The money raised came from customers across Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North of England.
Karen Scott, Chief Executive of Scotmid Co operative, said:
“We want to say a heartfelt thank you to every member and customer who chose to donate.
“Raising £22,000 in just four weeks is a fantastic achievement and reflects the kindness and generosity shown across the communities we serve.
“Every 10p donation made at the till has helped contribute to something much bigger, and we are incredibly grateful to our members and customers for choosing to support the DEC appeal in this simple but meaningful way.
“Their collective support has made a significant contribution to the vital support being delivered to people affected by the earthquakes, and we want to thank them sincerely for showing such compassion when it was needed most.”
The fundraising demonstrates the considerable impact that can be created when a very small contribution is repeated across thousands of everyday transactions.
There were no complicated fundraising challenges and no large individual donations were required to reach the total.
Customers simply chose to add another 10p when they paid for their shopping.
Four weeks later, those little acts of generosity were worth £22,000.
It is a simple reminder that helping people thousands of miles away does not always require doing something enormous.
Sometimes it starts with 10p at the till.
