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Ridge hospital foundation taking pennies

Donate your pennies to the Ridge Meadows Hospital Foundation by dropping them off at the hospital in Maple Ridge
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Donors are asked to bring their penny collections to the Ridge Meadows Hospital Foundation office

We've all got a pile of pennies somewhere: A bowl, a bottle, a piggy bank, or a collection in our car.

The Ridge Meadows Hospital Foundation is hosting a penny roundup, and asking people to donate their soon-to-be-gone pennies to the foundation.

The money will be used to purchase essential hospital equipment.

The Royal Canadian Mint ceased the production of pennies on Feb. 4, and they are being taken out of circulation by banks.

Donors are asked to bring their penny collections to the foundation office, located at the main entrance to the hospital.

The federal government is expecting to have some six billion turned in over the next six years, as they are completely phased out. Financial institutions will be reimbursed for these pennies, and it is expected they will be melted down, and the metal recycled.

The Royal Canadian Mint will save $11 million a year by not producing the copper-plated steel coins.

The last Canadian penny was minted on May 4, 2012 in Winnipeg.

• For information on the Ridge Meadows Hospital Foundation Penny Roundup, call 604-463-1822.