The Merc Co+op is excited to announce the recipients of the 2020 Change for our Community program.

Our Change program gives shoppers the opportunity to donate their pocket change to local community organizations each time they shop. Each month, The Merc Co+op chooses a different Change recipient and all donations collected that month go to that specific organization.

A committee of co-op employees selected twelve organizations from a pool of 36 applicants to be featured at the registers in 2020. Those organizations are:

January - Centro Hispano
February - Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen (LINK)
March - Lawrence Humane Society
April - Community Mercantile Education Foundation
May - Friends of Hidden Valley
June - Kansas Land Trust
July -Sunrise Project
August - Friends of the Kaw, Inc.
September - Headquarters, Inc.
October - Willow Domestic Violence Center
November - Coalition for Homeless Concerns
December - Giving Tree - Adopted Families

The co-op’s charitable giving program Change for our Community is celebrating five years of giving back to the community. Since it began in January 2014, Change has raised more than $330,000 for over forty local organizations.

Change for our Community offers three ways to give.

Round Up: Round the amount of your order up to the next dollar and the difference will be redirected to this month's Change recipient.
Change Jars: Drop your spare change into the jars at our cash registers.
Bag Refunds: Bring your own bag, and the 5 cent bag refund will be redirected to the Change recipient.

For more information, visit our Donations page, view our archive of Change recipients, or contact Laura Marsh, Outreach Manager, at outreach@themerc.coop.