Canada’s Penny Drive Powers Clean Water Access
Across Canada, students turned spare change into a powerful act of global aid as part of Free the Children’s We Create Change penny drive in partnership with RBC. The campaign has gathered roughly 70 million pennies, a sum that translates into real opportunities for people who lack reliable access to water. The effort connects a simple habit of saving coins to a life changing outcome: funding the Water Initiative, which brings safe, lasting water access to communities in developing countries. The momentum comes from schools, families, and local communities, with every coin treated as a step toward healthier lives and brighter futures for neighbors near and far.
With the penny drive officially phased out on Monday, organizers invited youth and their families to keep collecting pennies for the Water Initiative. The goal remains clear: turn small change into durable water access and help families build healthier tomorrows. The call to action emphasizes that sustained support, not a single gesture, can create lasting change for those in need.
From the moment the window opened, loose pennies could be dropped off at any RBC branch without the need to roll or bag them. After the designated period, RBC branches continued to accept penny bags and rolled pennies, ensuring a continued stream of support for clean water projects through the Water Initiative.
Throughout the school year, Canadian youth, educators, individual donors, businesses and organizations filled special penny bags as part of We Create Change. Each filled bag represents twenty five dollars in pennies and can provide a source of clean water to a person in a developing country for life. Filling a bag translates into a lasting contribution, illustrating how collective effort from students and communities grows into ongoing impact on the ground.
To date, the Water Initiative has raised enough money to provide permanent clean water sources to more than 65,000 people through donations, the penny drive, and the proceeds from Me to We’s Water Rafiki Friend Chains.
The tally of seventy million pennies shows how enthusiastically Canada’s youth have embraced the campaign. The penny drive is far from finished.
That momentum sets the tone for a celebration of a campaign that ends with a brighter, healthier future for families around the world. The penny, once a minor coin in daily life, has become a symbol of hope and practical assistance, proof that united effort can transform communities one small contribution at a time.