Finnair to donate to UNICEF campaign for Indian children

NEW DELHI - Nordic carrier Finnair said it would donate US 50 cents to a UNICEF campaign on behalf of Indian children for every new addition to its Facebook account as part of its “change for good” campaign.

UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) works for child rights, their survival, development and protection.

Finnair tied-up with UNICEF’s Finnish arm for this year’s Change For Good (CFG)

campaign.

Finnair has arranged a Change for Good collection on nearly all of its

international flights. Donated cash is placed in collection envelopes found in

seatback pockets, then the envelopes are sealed and given to the cabin staff.

In addition, during the campaign Finnair will donate 50 cents for each new Finnair Facebook member. Finnair and UNICEF Finland are implementing the CFG campaign for the 15th time. This year’s campaign runs from Nov 29, 2010 to Jan 9, 2011.

“UNICEF’s Clean Water and the Environment for the Children of India programme

will be the target for the collection for a second year. The programme

highlights in particular the importance of sanitation, hygiene and clean water,” said a Finnair statement.

The project will help build water points and toilets for schools. In addition, teachers will be trained to enable them to instruct children in hand washing and other aspects of hygiene.

To date, Finnair and its customers have raised more than one million euros for

UNICEF’s work.

“This year we wanted to add a new element to the campaign. We have promised to

donate 50 cents for each new member we receive on our Facebook page during the

campaign. At the same time we will also highlight on our Facebook page UNICEF’s

work for the good of the world’s children,” said Finnair’s communications

manager, Maria Mroue.

CFG has been part of the charity work of many one-world alliance airlines since

1999. The campaign has proved to be an effective and concrete way to improve

conditions in developing countries.

Over the years, the money acquired through the CFG collection has been directed to education programmes in Rwanda and Nepal, AIDS programmes in Vietnam and Kaliningrad, and an emergency relief project in Kosovo.