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UNICEF - Companies in the UK get behind UNICEF's Typhoon Haiyan Children's Emergency Appeal as the crisis

easyJet, EE, Marks & Spencer, Burberry, Unilever, Bloomberg, Manchester United, ING, H&M, Starwood Foundation, Rangers, DLA Piper, Emirates and British Airways are among companies to help raise over £1 million for UNICEF UK to support relief efforts in the aftermath of the Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. 
 
The valuable pledges come as UNICEF launches a global appeal for £21million to aid the estimated 4.5 million children of the Philippines in need of urgent assistance in the aftermath of the storm. 
 
easyJet, EE and H&M have opened up their customer bases encouraging consumers to get behind the urgent appeal. easyJet will ask passengers to donate on flights across their network of 33 countries. EE will text millions of EE, Orange and T-Mobile customers to encourage them to donate £5 to UNICEF; and H&M is asking shoppers in 200 stores up and down the UK to put spare change in buckets at tills. 
 
Manchester United, Marks & Spencer, Starwood Foundation, Unilever, Rangers, Burberry, Bloomberg and easyJet have all made generous contributions through cash donations. ING has launched staff fundraising activities, as have DLA Piper, Unilever, Bloomberg and Burberry who are all match funding this activity. This will all help UNICEF to reach children and families as quickly as possible with critical supplies, such as emergency health kits, life-saving emergency food for children, water purification tablets and tarpaulins.
 
Airlines have been quick to provide assistance to deliver vital supplies to the affected areas. British Airways is generously providing up to 90 tonnes of cargo space on a 747 from Stansted to Cebu in the Philippines on Monday, and Emirates is donating cargo space from UNICEF’s Supply Division in Copenhagen to Cebu this weekend. 
                                                    
“We’re extremely grateful to our partners and emergency supporters for their financial support and for galvanising their customers, their passengers and their staff to help raise funds. Over £1 million in corporate donations has been raised so far which is testament to the commitment of our partners,” said Kate Goldman, Director of Corporate Partnerships at UNICEF UK. “These funds are critical to help us continue getting supplies to children and families whose lives have been devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. Our partners and supporters’ contributions will help us scale up our emergency response and get vital supplies to the children in desperate need of our help.”  
 
Carolyn McCall, easyJet’s Chief Executive said "As the UK’s largest airline, we are in a very strong position to help the people affected by Typhoon Haiyan with our emergency onboard appeal. At easyJet we have been deeply moved by the scenes of devastation in the Philippines and that is why we have launched an emergency appeal on all our flights in partnership with UNICEF. To get the appeal started we are supporting with a corporate donation. We hope our support, and the generosity of our passengers, will help make a difference to the communities affected.”
 
Many of the areas hit by Typhoon Haiyan when it ripped through the archipelago last weekend are without electricity, clean water, food and medicine.
 
Alongside other supplies, the donations from UNICEF’s corporate partners, their customers and our emergency supporters will be used for the provision of generators to ensure access to safe drinking water for children and families in affected areas; the distribution of water and hygiene kits to help avoid the risk of disease outbreak; tarpaulins for simple shelter and education materials. 

To support UNICEF’s work for children affected by Typhoon Haiyan, visit www.unicef.org.uk/typhoon or text UNICEF to 70123 to donate £3

Notes for editors:
For more information please contact Helen Wylie, UNICEF UK Media Relations, Email:
helenw@unicef.org.uk / Tel: +44 (0)20 7375 6258 
 
About UNICEF

UNICEF is the world’s leading organisation for children, working in over 190 countries to help every child realise their full potential. We work with partners to transform the lives of children everywhere. UNICEF provides health care, water, nutrition, education and protection for children. The most vulnerable and disadvantaged children are our priority. As champion of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, we work to protect and promote the rights of every child. UNICEF UK raises funds for UNICEF’s emergency and development work and advocates for lasting change for children everywhere. We are a UK registered charity, supported entirely by voluntary donations. We do not receive any money from the UN. For more information, please visit
www.unicef.org.uk 


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