Those among us who have at one time or another secretly rifled change from a Trócaire collection box are to be offered a path to redemption.
The agency is offering an amnesty to box thieves through its newly established Trócaire Box Offenders Redemption Society or TROBORS.
Offenders can atone for their petty transgressions by pledging €5 a month with the agency to help the world’s poorest people.
The charity's somewhat tongue-in-cheek initiative appears to be directed at those of a certain vintage judging by the advert on its website.
It reads: “Ok. So maybe you’ve borrowed a little from the Trócaire Box? Dipped in when you needed some change for Rancheros, a Wham Bar or even a Sherbert Dip?”
It ends with a call to support the agency's effort to combat global povertry, and make amends "for any past raiding of the Trócaire Box".
A Trócaire spokeswoman said: "We all remember taking change from the boxes for a bit of bus fare or finding IOUs in them come collection time.
"The current campaign is really a light-hearted way of jogging people's memories, and maybe if some have a guilty conscience they might pay back their IOUs," she said.
The Catholic agency, which supports projects in 30 countries, says the effects of world economic crisis are being “deeply felt” in the developing world.
While many people in Ireland have to make tough financial adjustments in the current climate, it said, similar changes “can mean the difference between life and death” in the developing world.
Donations will help provide food and clean water for families, give children an education and help provide seeds and farming tools for families giving them a chance to generate a life saving income.
