Denver School Cashes In With Office Depot Spending Spree Thanks To Coin Shortage

THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4)- The national coin shortage helped one school with a spending spree. Office Depot is among some businesses asking customers to round up their total, and donate that change to charity.

The Office Depot in Thornton collected the difference and gave all the proceeds to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Early College. The Denver school had $18,566 to spend in two hours on Thursday.

Faculty and staff raced to grab what they could. The principal didn't believe it when she got the email.

"This type of email could read like a prank, but it's not, this is real. I was super excited to find out that information," said principal Kimberly Grayson.

The store said it collected the money from mid-November to early January.