BELLEVUE, Wash., May 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- With more than 20
years of coin-counting history and 20,300 kiosks in the United States, Canada, Puerto
Rico, Ireland and the
United Kingdom, Coinstar
(www.coinstar.com) will soon celebrate its one billionth
transaction. Considering that Coinstar, a leader in money services,
processed 49.7 billion coins in 2013 alone, the cumulative amount
from the last two decades is astronomical – to date, Coinstar has
processed 649,963,558,659 coins, weighing approximately
4,633,773,919 pounds. To put this in perspective, if the average
car weighs 4,000 pounds, over the past 20+ years, Coinstar has
processed the weight equivalent of more than one million
cars!
To mark this momentous occasion, Coinstar launched
"#CoinstarBillionth," a sweepstakes to encourage people to guess
the location of the one billionth transaction for a chance to win
$1,000. The sweepstakes runs from
May 30 until June 13. For complete rules, and to enter, go to
www.facebook.com/coinstar.
To celebrate the milestone, in addition to the sweepstakes,
Coinstar will make a $10,000 donation
to Seattle-based Childhaven, a
nonprofit that works to transform the lives of those in need.
Childhaven's mission is to forever end the cycle of child abuse and
neglect by healing its youngest victims with scientifically proven
therapeutic care, preparing them to be successful learners,
supporting their families and laying the foundation for lifelong
loving relationships.
"We have spent more than two decades helping people transform
what they have into what they want," said Jim Gaherity, president of Coinstar. "We're
proud to celebrate this milestone by supporting the mission of
Childhaven, and are looking forward to continuing to help people,
coin by coin."
Coins that Count
In its 23-year history, Coinstar has processed more than
$37 billion in coins1,
counting more than $3 billion in 2013
alone. Additionally, since its inception in 1997, Coinstar's "Coins
that Count" charitable giving program has raised more than
$72 million to support organizations
including The American Red Cross, The Ronald McDonald House, The
Humane Society of the United
States and more.
Coinstar's Growing Family
Earlier this year, as a brand expansion to address an
underserved consumer need, Coinstar introduced Coinstar Exchange, a
convenient way to turn unused gift cards into cash. The bright
yellow kiosks let consumers instantly transform unused or partially
used gift cards into cash. Coinstar Exchange kiosks accept more
than 150 gift cards from a variety of retailers and are currently
available at popular grocery retailers in markets across the U.S.
To learn more or to locate the nearest Coinstar Exchange kiosk,
visit www.coinstar.com.
About Coinstar
Coinstar, part of the Outerwall Inc. (Nasdaq: OUTR) family, is a
leader in money services. It owns and operates the only
multi-national, fully automated network of self-service
coin-counting kiosks and now also operates Coinstar Exchange, a new
network of gift card-exchange kiosks. The company has approximately
20,300 coin-counting locations in the
United States, Canada,
Puerto Rico, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Coinstar kiosks process more
than $3 billion in coins
annually. Coinstar makes it simple to convert coins to cash
or consumers can receive no-fee coin-counting when choosing a gift
card or eCertificate. For more information on Coinstar and Coinstar
Exchange please visit www.coinstar.com and for information on
Outerwall Inc., please visit www.outerwall.com.
About Childhaven
Since 1909, Childhaven has been a safe and caring place for
babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers. Today, we are a community
leader, statewide advocate, and national model in the treatment and
prevention of child abuse and neglect. Using innovative, proven
approaches to child development, our trauma treatment program heals
old hurts and nurtures young lives. By strengthening family and
child relationships and improving parenting skills, we break the
cycle of abuse and neglect and create a foundation for lifelong
loving relationships.
1 Total through 2013
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140530/92554
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131121/SF21614LOGO-a
SOURCE Coinstar