Fred Meyer customers have donated $5,012.75 to the Lake Washington School District (LWSD) by dropping their change in the coin boxes located at local Fred Meyer checkstands.

The LWSD will receive a check this week. In 130 Fred Meyer stores in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, a total of $367,382.05 in change was donated to local schools in an eight-month period. Throughout the entire state of Washington, Fred Meyer customers raised $139,421.02.

Fred Meyer began collecting donations for school districts in June 2009 and continued through February 2010, with the exception of two weeks in January when the coin boxes were temporarily earmarked for the American Red Cross Haiti Disaster Relief Fund, raising more than $70,000 for that organization.

“Our customers have really made a difference with their small change donations, and we’re so pleased to be able to support local schools with these funds,” said Melinda Merrill, public affairs director for Fred Meyer Stores.

Fred Meyer has had coin boxes at its checkstands for more than 10 years, and the money collected in those coin boxes are distributed through the company’s corporate foundation, The Fred Meyer Fund. June 2009 represented the first time the fund called out a specific organization on the coin boxes, letting customers know exactly where their donated change would be going.

From February 2010 to mid-May, the coin box money was directed to local food banks. The final tally for food banks is not yet available, but is expected to be at least $130,000 companywide. From May 23 through August 14, coin box money will go to Operation Homefront, supporting troops and their families, in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. In Alaska, the change donations will go to Armed Services YMCA of Alaska.

Fred Meyer has a number of other on-going programs that help to support and raise money for local schools, including the Upromise, Box Tops for Education and E-Labels for Education programs. For more information about Fred Meyer’s commitment to education and the other programs, visit http://www.fredmeyer.com/services/Pages/school_programs.aspx.