A penny found is a penny earned (for charity)

It's a new year, which means there's a new tally in my annual found money campaign for the Sean McGrath Fund!

Some background: Sean was a dear friend and colleague, who also played guitar in the punk and hardcore bands Saves The Day, Hands Tied, and Mouthpiece. Unofficially founded in 2002 when some friends and I threw a benefit concert--with Thursday, Taking Back Sunday, Midtown, and The Movielife on the bill--for Sean's medical expenses after his diagnosis with advanced cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer), the Fund was officially incorporated as a charity through the Princeton Area Community Foundation after Sean's death in 2004.

In the decade since, we've given over $30,000 in grants to health and humanitarian causes locally, nationally, and internationally. In response to the economic crisis, we ramped up our granting activities in 2011, nearly exhausting our fund with two years of monthly grants. Unfortunately, you can only give out more money than you take in for so long, so we're currently in a phase of rebuilding our nest egg, and hope to do some larger scale fundraisers this year so we can begin doling out grants to worthy organizations again soon!

The money that I find and pick up on the street throughout the year and set aside for the SMcGF is just a drop in the bucket, but anyone in the charity sector will tell you that literally every penny is helpful and appreciated! So now let's take a look at those pennies:

.01 x 297  =  $2.97

.05 x 13  =  $0.65

.10 x 33  =  $3.30

.25 x 28  =  $7.00

1.00 x 3  =  $3.00

Along with one Canadian dime, three Canadian pennies, and one Euro cent (worth 13 cents altogether), plus a MetroCard I found with 50 cents of credit, that puts this year's grand total at $17.55. While that is considerably lower than the tallies from last year or the year before, I'll chalk up most of the underage to the fact that I had a lot less freelance work this year, and therefore spent a lot less time in the city, where people tend not to look down or bend over when they hear the clink of dropped change. Hopefully 2014 will be more fruitful for me on the work front, and for the Sean McGrath Fund on the found money front!

I have a special place in my heart for the most weathered coins that I find, if only because once they make it to the bank, there's a good chance that they'll be sent off to the mint to be melted down. I'm proud to give them an honorable death in the line of charity. These are this year's most timeworn specimens, most of them so far gone that their mint dates are completely illegible.

As I do every year, I'm asking friends, readers, and supporters to match the donation in honor of what would have been Sean's birthday later this month. Your matching donation (or donation of any amount) will amplify the impact of this found change and help us support great causes through the SMcGF in the year ahead. If you'd like to make a donation, hit the orange button on the PACF site and make sure you specify "Sean McGrath Fund" in your note!

I'm also extending a challenge in hopes that all of you will set aside a jar, mug, or bowl and spend the next year filling it with any money you happen to find on the sidewalk, at the checkout counter, in your couch cushions, or any other "lost" money, and to donate your grand tally in twelve months. Let your own little change become a little way that you change the world next year!