TORONTO – Rick Snyder wakes up every day at 4 a.m. and spends four hours walking, collecting change he finds on the side of the road, in vending machines and in car wash vacuum bins.
Over the span of a decade, the Florida man collected more than $21,000 in loose change. On Tuesday, he donated all of the proceeds to a local animal shelter.
“One of the problems we have being retirees is we become too self-involved,” said Snyder in an interview with the Bradenton Herald. “My advice is, we need to get involved in something else. Do something for someone else.”
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The 69-year-old said he finds on average $5.60 in change a day and walks just under 80 km a week.
Snyder said he decided to donate to Gulf Shore Animal League—a shelter that takes care of feral cats—due to his passion for animals and his personal dedication to taking care of feral cats on his own time.
“I’ve always liked animals. I’ve been taking care of feral cats for years and I started noticing a lot of change lying around,” said Synder. “So I started picking it up and keeping track of it.”
The volunteer organization is exclusively funded through grants and donations and adopts approximately 250 cats per year and spays and neuters about 2,000 per year to cut down on homelessness and overpopulation.
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