Mike McGowan is always on the lookout for loose change.
Pennies, nickels, dimes — he’ll take whatever he can find.
“I pick change up off the ground,” said McGowan, a server at Harry T’s in Destin. “I’ve got a jar up at work. I hit everybody up for the change.”
He has been collecting change for five years. He starts in January and collects coins with help from his co-workers and his girlfriend, Rosie Calley. In mid-December he rolls the coins and cashes them in to buys toys for Toys for Tots.
This year he raised about $2,150. He used a portion of the money to buy more than 1,000 toys for the national toy drive and spent the rest on gifts for individual needy families.
Paula Mitchell, the general manager at Harry T’s, said McGowan’s generosity has spread through the entire wait staff, many of whom contribute the change from their tips.
“It was so commendable to see a young person doing something for someone else,” she said of McGowan. “It’s a good thing.”
McGowan said he’s not sure where he got the idea to collect loose change, but he looks forward to the challenge every year.
“I love Christmas,” he said. “I’m just hoping kids will get some good toys.”