As children prepare to return to school after the summer holidays, schools across Lanarkshire are being encouraged to launch foreign currency collections and turn leftover coins and notes into meals for hungry children.
Through Mary's Meals, even the smallest amount can have a life-changing impact on hungry children living in some of the world's poorest communities. It costs just 10p to provide a nutritious meal in a place of education, while only £19.15 provides meals for a child for a whole school year.
How schools can help
The school feeding charity is calling on schools to start foreign currency fundraisers and asking parents to check pockets, purses and wallets for forgotten holiday money that can be sent into school with their children for the start of the new term.
Mary's Meals, founded in a shed in the Scottish Highlands in 2002, provides school meals to more than three million children in 16 countries, including Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, every school day.
Impact of a daily meal
The promise of a daily meal encourages children into the classroom, where they gain an education and hope for a better tomorrow. Lanarkshire schools can start making a difference today simply by requesting a free foreign currency pack on the Mary's Meals website and galvanising parents and pupils to get involved.
Regional development officer at Mary's Meals, Gerrard McMahon, said: "We'd love for your school to set up its own foreign currency collection. We'll provide everything you need, including envelopes, a collection box and clear instructions. We accept coins and notes from any country, as well as old UK currency no longer in circulation. If you have old coins and notes sitting in drawers and wallets, don't let them go to waste."
Overcoming hunger
McMahon added: "Too often, hunger holds a child back from the future they deserve, keeping them out of school and communities stuck in a cycle of poverty… year after year. With the promise of a daily school meal, we can overcome this barrier and allow a child to unleash their full potential."
For more information, visit www.marysmeals.org.uk/foreign-currency.
