Collecting coins for a cause

　　When it comes to wealth， how much is enough？ Meet Rick Snyder， who at the age of 69， continues to care and giving it back to the society where he lives in

　　Rick Snyder from Florida， United States， had decided to donate all the money he gatheredon the streets over the span of 10 years， to anon-profit organization – Gulf Shore Animal League.This story has just aptly illustrated how one man’s ‘trash’could become another man’s treasure， and not just that，it has become a token so precious that it benefits not justone man， but the whole community of stray cats andany other animals which are under its care.

　　In an interview with the local newspaper， Snyder wasquoted saying： “I’ve always liked animals. I’ve been taking care of strayed cats for years and I started noticing a lot of loose change laying around， so I started picking it up and keeping track of it.” All coins have been cleanedand stored in plastic containers labelled with numbers，and the amount has been carefully tabulated kept in hisnotes.

　　Snyder’s daily routine starts at 4：30am. He would goaround at car washes and dig change out of vacuumsand vending machines during his daily walks to care forstrayed cats in the area. He has done that for more than 10 years， finding an average of USD 5.60 (equivalent toSGD 7.20) in change per day. He said he walks between 72 and 77 km per week. Snyder said he also uses thosetrips to collect towels that have been thrown away， washthem and donate them， and he picks up plastic bottles out of the trash to take them home and recycle them.“It astounds me how wasteful people are，” Snydersaid.

　　Volunteers from the Gulf Shore Animal League cameto his residence to help him gather 1.134 tonnes of coins，amounting to USD 21，495 (SGD 27，727.16).

　　“One of the problems we have being retirees is we become too self-involved，” Snyder told the local newspaper. “My advice is， we need to get involved in something else. Do something for someone else.”

　　Gulf Shore’s main focus is taking care of cats. The volunteer organization， exclusively funded through grants and donations， adopts 250 cats per year and spays and neuters about 2，000 per year to cut downon homelessness and overpopulation. Cheryl Wade， the president of Gulf Shore， said the USD 21，495 is the largest donation it has received from an individual contributor.In addition to taking care of stray cats， Snyder owns five cats personally and said he has found homes forabout 100 cats， many of them with tenants in the 48units in Burgundy Condominiums that he owns.

　　Asked if he ever thought about keeping the money for himself， Snyder shook his head and said： “I have enough money.”