More than 15,000 Coinstar Centers have been enabled across the country to support victims of the devastating Haitian earthquake that occurred earlier this week.
A special U.S. Fund for UNICEF code, 5556, has been added to Coinstar Centers in participating locations allowing individuals to help the millions of children and families struggling to survive the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake.
Coinstar is requesting help to raise funds for UNICEF’s relief efforts through the donation of spare change and has agreed to absorb the costs associated with processing the first $500,000 donated through Coinstar Centers.
Coinstar Centers accept coin donations of any size making it easy to contribute. To make a donation, consumers simply take their coin jar to one of more than 15,000 participating locations, select the “donate” option from the menu and choose The U.S. Fund for UNICEF, special code 5556. Donors receive a tax receipt for the full amount of their donation and funds are transferred to UNICEF within 48 hours.
“In the wake of this disaster it is encouraging to witness Americans coming together to help those in need,” said Mike Skinner, president, Coin and EPay for Coinstar, Inc. “If half of the U.S. population donated just $1, it would translate to more than $150 million. Ninety percent of the U.S. population lives within five miles of a Coinstar Center making it a convenient and easy way to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti put their lives back together.”
UNICEF is deploying necessary supplies to Jacmel and Port-au-Prince as quickly as possible to assist with recovery efforts including clean water and sanitation, therapeutic foods, medical supplies and temporary shelter.
“We are grateful to Coinstar for assisting us in our efforts to raise funds to help Haiti,” said Caryl Stern, president and CEO, U.S. Fund for UNICEF. “We are moved by the generosity of the American people and organizations like Coinstar as funds are still urgently needed to help children and families caught in this disaster. We want to encourage everyone to keep donating so that we can continue to deploy necessary supplies like temporary shelter systems, hygiene kits, essential medicines, water purification tablets, portable toilets and family kits containing blankets and soap.”