I really think this Parking Meters idea is a neat idea, although I also wonder how practical it is. Various cities in the United States and Canada have re-purposed parking meters to be basically large tzedakah boxes or charity collection facilities, in the middle of urban areas. That is, neat receptacles to collect coin donations from passersby.
ParcoDon Campaign Parking Meters
The video below shows parking meters in Montreal getting decorated by celebrities to help spread the word about the program and help them stand out more.
It sounds like different cities have different results ranging from raising $2000 in three years to expectations of $40000 in the same period elsewhere, to more than $100000 a year. I think the differences probably have to do with how well advertised they are, but who knows?
The idea is to help the homeless as well as to cut down on panhandling. In some areas it seems the program is effective in reaching those goals.
The project sort of reminds me of the public tzedakah boxes you can find around Israel attached to bus stations, synagogues and community buildings. These boxes are generally quite plain. I don’t know how much they are used. I have seen people putting money in them, but I have no idea how many people do. They definitely do not cut down on requests for money on the street, but I think most people are fine with being asked. I think it is culturally accepted.
You can see where the parking meters are on this google maps, map:
Parcodon Project Parking Meters Map
In any case this seems like a nice large scale charity or chesed project. To see a smaller yet still a community chesed project, you may want to read the 100 Acts of Chesed post, a community project for a 100th birthday.
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