With changing regulations for events, the Queenstown Lions Club has shifted its fundraising focus to recycling, but the service club's activities in aid of national and community projects continue to raise substantial amounts.
Club member Simon Hayes, whose idea of collecting old and foreign coins in aid of children earned him a Lions International President's Award, said the club had been involved with the Winter Festival for 25 years but due to ''the way that societies have changed ... lately we've been recyclers''.
In conjunction with the coins, the club is appealing for people to give their old car batteries to help yet-to-be-determined projects in the local community.
Causes that have recently received Queenstown Lions Club funding include the Queenstown Memorial Hall, St John Ambulance and a community barbecue.
A battery on its own was worth little, ''but put 100 together and you've got some serious money'', Mr Hayes said.
The club, which was established about 35 years ago, has about 35 active members and meets once a month, usually with a guest speaker.
Like any club, it was ''always looking for new members'' in a bid to constantly refresh itself and produce new ideas.
''I suspect [for] a lot of clubs or organisations, that's why they die, and you have to be relevant.''
April 12-19 is the Heads up for Kids awareness week and Mr Hayes is encouraging people to dig out old or foreign coins and take them to either the Resene shop on Gorge Rd or a Lions member.
So far, half a million dollars has been raised nationally from the project and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand estimated there was $81 million of old coins not accounted for.
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