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Businesses show unprecedented support for refugee crisis


Thursday, 17 September 2015

Save the Children has received a phenomenal level of support from big businesses and leading brands in response to its Child Refugee Crisis Appeal, which thanks to the generosity from corporate partners and the general public has raised more than £3million in just under two weeks.

This overwhelming support is enabling Save the Children to provide much-needed protection and help to those children fleeing their homes and seeking refuge in Europe, as well as supporting desperate children who remain in war-torn countries like Syria.

Companies have shown their support in a variety of ways, from hugely generous financial donations such as £1million from Visa Europe, to innovative ventures such as UberGiving where drivers collected donated items for free to be sold in Save the Children shops, to companies engaging employees to show their support, for example IKEA is creating an opportunity for co-workers to “work a day for free” and donate one day’s wages to the appeal.

A summary of the widespread corporate support includes:

  • Visa Europe has donated £1million and is encouraging employees to back Save the Children’s appeal and raise further funds through its annual bike ride next week
  • UberGiving – Uber drivers collected more than five and a half tube carriages of donated items from homes and businesses across the UK to give to Save the Children’s shops nationwide to sell to raise money for the appeal
  • A new iTunes single ‘Help is Coming’ by Crowded House has been released with full profits and Apple's proceeds going to Save the Children’s Child Refugee Crisis Appeal
  • Google.com has launched a global promotion on their landing page to support the Child Refugee Crisis Appeal and are match-funding any donations made up to €5million
  • GSK has donated £150,000 and launched a staff fundraising appeal which will be match-funded by the organisation; more than £20,000 has been raised in total so far
  • Virgin Atlantic has launched an on-board appeal on all flights that will run until 20th September and a fundraising appeal for their employees globally
  • RB are the biggest corporate supporter of Save the Children’s Child Emergency Fund and have donated £600,000 this year, a proportion of which has been used for the Child Refugee Crisis Appeal
  • IKEA co-workers in the UK and Ireland have been given the opportunity to ‘work a day for free’ and donate up to a day’s wages
  • The Swarovski Foundation has made a donation and the Swarovski company has launched a global staff fundraising initiative
  • Johnson & Johnson, Pearson and Ernst & Young have launched fundraising appeals for their employees
  • Starbucks has donated £48,500 via the Starbucks Foundation in the US and are encouraging customers to donate in stores across the UK

Sports teams across the country have also collaborated to back Save the Children’s appeal:

  • £1 from each ticket at Arsenal’s home game against Stoke on Saturday 12th September was donated, with players promoting a bespoke text to donate code on their training tops and details of how to support the appeal appearing throughout the official match day programme
  • Premier League football clubs united in response to the crisis by promoting the appeal at every game on Saturday 12th September and Sunday 13th September. They will continue the same support this weekend
  • On Saturday 3rd October Norwich City Football Club will donate £1 from every ticket purchased for the Leicester City match as well as holding bucket collections and donating an additional £1 for every sale of selected items of Canaries Official merchandise bought up until the day of the match
  • Heart of Midlothian Football Club who carry Save the Children’s name on their shirts, will hold bucket collections and a text-to-donate action at the match against Aberdeen this Saturday, 20th September

Save the Children’s CEO Justin Forsyth said: “These are tragic and desperate times for child refugees and their families, children are fleeing bombs, bullets and torture in warzones like Syria, only to drown in European waters. But it’s incredibly humbling to see people come together at a time of crisis and thanks to the generous support of our partners and the public we can do even more to stop children dying on our doorstep.”

So far in 2015 more than 380,000 desperate people made the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea – tragically 2,850 people have died. In Italy alone, 7,600 children have arrived alone this year, without any parents or families at all. Save the Children works in countries on the routes faced by fleeing refugees like Turkey, Egypt and Italy – ensuring children are protected wherever possible.

Save the Children is doing whatever it takes to provide essential support to the thousands of children in need. Donate to Save the Children’s Child Refugee Crisis Appeal at savethechildren.org.uk or call 0800 8148 148.

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About Save the Children:

Save the Children works in more than 120 countries. We save children's lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. www.savethechildren.org.uk