Resene Paints has enthusiastically jumped on board with the Heads Up for Kids campaign.

In fact Resene is so keen to start the ball rolling they have asked staff to dig out their old money that includes coins, bank notes and foreign currency now and get a pool of money to officially launch the campaign on the 10th of July.

We are asking Lions do the same. Check out those old cupboards and drawers and dig out the old money now. Talk to your local Churches, corner dairies, banks, city council parking departments, vending machine operators, laundries and restaurants and post office.  

Incredibly there are reports of major trading banks sending old coin to the tip, rather than to Wellington to be redeemed.

Key Steps

·         Nominate a club member as a contact for the Heads up for Kids -Old Money Project and advise Olivia from Morrison McDougall with name, telephone and contact details.

·         We will come back to you with the nearest Resene retail collection point and your contacts.

·         Stay in contact with the project managers at Morrison McDougall

On behalf of the Lions-Resene Old Money Campaign call our toll free number 0800 OLD MONEY (0800 653 666) or contact one of the following committee members:

Queenstown—Simon Hayes Tel 03 441 0785 or 027 223 3150

Wellington - Iain Morrison Tel 04 473 7980 or 021 688 668

Greytown – Stuart Patterson Tel 06 304 8383

Auckland – Ian (Chalky) White Tel 09 947 0799

Auckland – Cliff Heywood Tel 09 486 2827 or 021 865 045

Northland – Colin Twyman Tel 09 435 0717 or 021 275 6995

Executive Officer – David Dawick Tel 027 494 9051

HOW COINS, BANKNOTES AND FOREIGN CURRENCY CAMPAIGN WILL WORK FROM TENTH OF JULY (THIS YEAR)

THE PROCESS

Resene Paints has confirmed that it will be cornerstone supporter for the Old Money (coins, banknotes and foreign currency) campaign alongside Lions.

In the first instance the public will be encouraged to take their old coins, notes and foreign currency to a Resene shop and “deposit” them into a specially branded “money box” paint tin (similar to the ones used for the Can Tabs campaign which are also provided by Resene).

A special 0800 OLD MONEY (0800 653 666) and a dedicated section of the Lions website will enable the public to request a Lion to call at their home and collect the old currency they are holding. This will then be taken to the local Resene shop and deposited into the money tins.

A big part of the project will be sorting the coins and notes into different denominations and separating out foreign currency and any current money that has been thrown in as a donation. Donations of current money can be banked directly into a special coins account.

Lions will be able to set themselves up at the Resene retail outlets with Resene staff and sort the money into bags. Resene has then undertaken to transport the notes and coins to their Wellington warehouse where the old currency will be gathered into larger parcels and transported to the Reserve Bank.

The soft launch starts now. Get club members, banks, dairies, churches, laundries and vending machine operators (or anyone else you can think of) to dig out any old money they are holding.

The campaign will be officially launched on Saturday July 10 to television news networks, the national Sunday newspapers and radio stations. The campaign will be officially promoted for at least two weeks, but Resene will continue to collect old currency for some months ahead.

We have set a very tight launch deadline as this is such a great idea we didn’t want to run the risk of it getting picked up and “borrowed” by someone else.

The campaign offers Lions a wonderful photo and news media opportunities. The project team will launch the campaign with full media briefing advisories and will supply participating clubs with a template they can use as a backgrounder for a local story in local newspapers and radio stations.

The project team will offer a range of photo opportunities or stunts that Lions can offer and we will provide contacts with local media where they are required.

In addition we are planning a national television advertising campaign that will build awareness and direct people wishing to hand over their old currency to a Resene shop, the 0800 number or the website.

The project team is offering sponsorship opportunities to several other organisations to join Resene and form a family of sponsors. TVNZ has offered a highly discounted rate for promotion that will build a strong national awareness.

Because the old currency is not legal tender, it has no value unless it is taken to the Reserve Bank and redeemed for cash. Apart from its scrap metal value, which is a fraction of its face value, no-one other the Reserve Bank will take the old coins and notes.

But just in case anyone has the bright idea of stealing coins from our special money boxes, the coins will be treated with an ultra violet chemical or sprayed with microdots the size of a grain of sand and impossible to wipe clean.

This means the Reserve Bank can check any bulk deposits that are made other than by Lions and will be able to identify Lions collected currency if it has been taken. The Reserve Bank does not make immediate cash payments to people redeeming old currency and have security cameras, etc at their reception area.

The chemical or microdot treatment will deter anyone from trying to make a coin heist while in transit from a Resene shop to the Reserve Bank.

The project will require a large number of Lions from North Cape to Bluff and the main tasks will be collecting the old coins and bank notes from homes and businesses and helping Resene staff sort them into different denominations at the Resene shops.

The project team is appointing at least two district co-ordinators for each area and asking for clubs to volunteer members to be the collectors and coin sorters. Names and contacts will be printed onto labels for each collection point/Resene retail outlet.

It is important that the currency is progressively sorted and transported to Wellington. Once again Resene has come to the party with transportation and when they have a pallet load they will back load it to the Resene warehouse in Lower Hutt.

The 0800 OLD MONEY number will be managed 24 hours, seven days a week and can also be used as a help line for Lions.

The “old” money will be invested in New Zealand’s most precious asset and provide a springboard for good Kiwi kids to become amazing New Zealanders of the future. Young people in all districts will benefit from this campaign.

Our target is to raise $1million plus to be dispersed to appropriate organisations that assist young New Zealanders reach their full potential. The money raised will also help promote participation and success in many of the Lions own youth programmes that include:

Young Speechmaker of the Year

Overseas Youth Exchange

            International Peace Poster Competition

            Young Ambassadors of New Zealand

            Leo Club activities

Lions Clubs are already significant donors and sponsors of young people working toward a Duke of Edinburgh Award or on courses at the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre, the Spirit of Adventure, or Outward Bound. 

These and other outdoor education providers introduce young people to the great New Zealand outdoors and, in many cases, offer life changing experiences that will remain as lifelong influences.

The coins campaign committee is being chaired by Simon Hayes from Queenstown and includes Cliff Heywood, David Dawick, Colin Twyman, Stuart Patterson and Ian (Chalky) White. It will be project managed and promoted by Lion magazine editor Iain Morrison from his Wellington office at Level 5, 93 Boulcott Street in the CBD.