The generosity of our customers, of people coming into our branches, of the schools taking part in the effort and of BNP Paribas Fortis' staff, increases year-by-year. This year, the third time we have organised our ‘Red Cents’ collection drive, close to 5 million coins have been collected, to a total value of €116,283. This donation enables the Belgian food banks to distribute over 38,500 meals to some of the most needy people in the country.
Initiated by BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation, this latest Red Cents drive ran from 9 December 2013 to 24 January 2014, proved an even bigger success than in the previous two years. This third annual round saw over 2,350 sacks of coins gathered in, weighed, sorted and counted up. A total of 4.8 million of these little coins were donated, to a total value of €116,283, which goes to help the most deprived people in Belgium by providing them with a hot meal.
As a hot meal costs €3, the Belgian food banks will this year be able to distribute over 38,500 meals. Last year, 3 million coins were collected, to a value of around €93,000, the equivalent of 31,000 meals. Over the three years, this collection drive has now enabled the Belgian charity food banks to distribute around 84,000 hot meals.
The ‘Red Cents’ initiative run annually at the 1,200 BNP Paribas Fortis and Fintro branches across Belgium consists of collecting 1, 2 and 5 eurocent coins. Collection boxes were also set up at our company restaurants to enable Bank staff to make a contribution. A novel aspect this time around was that a number of primary schools joined in on the operation.
As last year, in addition to the sum collected, BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation made a supplementary contribution to the food banks. For every ‘check-in’ by a visitor at one of the BNP Paribas Fortis branches listed on the foursquare® network, the Foundation donated the equivalent of an extra meal, up to a maximum of 5,000 meals or €15,000 in total. This target was well beaten: 9,500 personal check-ins were recorded.
Alfons De Vadder, Chief Executive of the Belgian Federation of Food Banks, underlined that the support provided by BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation encourages the general public to show greater civic commitment: “This collection effort fosters awareness and generosity, and really teaches people something about good citizenship. And this year the collection boxes set up in schools have helped to raise awareness among children of the existence of poverty and of the real value of a meal.”
Are the 1 and 2 cent coins about to disappear?
Recently, Belgian Finance Minister Koen Geens put forward the idea of ‘symmetrical rounding’ of prices in order to limit the circulation of the copper 1 and 2 eurocent coins. This means that merchants would round prices to the nearest 5 cents, whether upwards or downwards. There is evidence that in Belgium 95% of all 1 and 2 cent coins are never used, which is what led BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation to organise collections of these little coins to pass on to the food banks.
If the proposal from the Ministry of Finance goes through, BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation and the Belgian Federation of Food Banks would be happy to take part in the work of collecting the 1 and 2 cent coins as they are gradually removed from circulation.
Meanwhile the Red Cents initiative continues to raise awareness among large numbers of people, driven as it is by the generosity and energy of customers, people just popping into our branches, charities, schools and sports clubs, as well as our staff at the Bank. BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation and the Food Banks are committed to a fourth collection drive starting in late 2014 and already making preparations.
Press contacts
Belgian Federation of Food Banks
Tel: 02/ 559 11 10
info@foodbanks.be
BNP Paribas Fortis
Tel.: 02/565 46 50
pressbnpparibasfortis@bnpparibasfortis.com
About the BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation – The Red Cents operation is one of a range of such initiatives which BNP Paribas Fortis undertakes as part of its civic engagement policy, through the Bank’s private foundation. The BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation provides support to a large number of charities and social welfare organisations, thus helping to combat poverty and social marginalisation.
BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation was established, with the status of a private foundation, on 8 April 2010, thus confirming BNP Paribas Fortis’ commitment to pursuing its corporate philanthropy policies, drawing on the fourteen years’ previous experience of the Fortis Foundation Belgium in this field, underpinned by the core values of the BNP Paribas Group.
In its work to help combat social marginalisation, the BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation focuses its activities on three main areas:
- Helping children and young people to re-connect with society through educational projects
- Encouraging charity and social welfare projects to which BNP Paribas Fortis staff contribute their time and skills on a voluntary basis
- Mobilising the Bank branches to support social solidarity initiatives such as the annual ‘Red Cents’ operation.
BNP Paribas Fortis offers the Belgian market a comprehensive package of financial services for private individuals, the self-employed, professionals and SMEs. In the insurance sector, BNP Paribas Fortis works closely with Belgian market leader AG Insurance. The bank also provides wealthy individuals, corporations and public and financial institutions with custom solutions for which it can draw on BNP Paribas’ know-how and international network. www.bnpparibasfortis.com
The Belgian Federation of Food Banks is a coordination and logistics body that represents a national network of nine regional food banks, which undertake to distribute foodstuffs among charity organisations. The mission of the food banks is to provide food aid to the most deprived people. They are assisted in this task by large gifts of foodstuffs from the European Food Aid Programme, and also from the food processing industry, from wholesalers and major retail chains. They also organise periodic collections among the general public. All sums thus collected are channelled into providing the maximum number of free meals to the needy.
The food banks currently collect and distribute over 11,800 tons of foodstuffs every year to some 122,135 beneficiaries via 614 local charity organisations.
www.banquesalimentaires.be
www.voedselbanken.be