Coins for Kids is well underway at Westshore Town Centre.

Every purchase made at the mall until Nov. 9 has the potential to help one of 17 local elementary schools fund new playground equipment, art supplies, education kits and more.

The fundraiser, which has seen several variations over the last eight years, gets shoppers involved by encouraging them to submit their Westshore Town Centre receipts, or by making a donation to the Goldstream Food Bank Society.

Before submitting the receipts, shoppers are encouraged to write the name of the school they want to support on the back of the receipt or on an envelope thatB次元官网网址檚 provided. Each dollar spent equals one point and the two schools with the most points at the end receive $1,500 and $1,000, respectively. A third school, whose name is drawn at random, will receive $700.

B次元官网网址�(The money) goes directly to the parentsB次元官网网址� (advisory) council, not to the school or the teachers,B次元官网网址� said Sandra Doris, the centreB次元官网网址檚 marketing manager of retail services. B次元官网网址淲e really wanted to have the onus on the parents. They know better than we do.B次元官网网址�

New this year, points can also be accumulated through food bank donations, with each bag of non-perishable donations earning 500 points toward one of the schools.

B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檙e not spending a lot, but you bring in a bag of donations for the food bank, you can still contribute to your school,B次元官网网址� Doris said.

As well, any receipts from food vendors, such as Original JoeB次元官网网址檚, RomeoB次元官网网址檚 or Fairway Market, earn five times the points.

Westshore Town Centre is also accepting cash donations to the food bank.

For more information, visit westshoretowncentre.com/category/special-events/ or call 250-474-3269.

acowan@goldstreamgazette.com