TOPAZ RAISES €75,000 FOR UNICEF Ireland’s EMERGENCY APPEAL FOR HAITI
Wednesday 1st April 2010. Topaz and children’s charity UNICEF Ireland have confirmed that their ‘Help Us to Help Haiti’ campaign has raised €75,000 for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
Over the last couple of months Topaz placed collection buckets in over 100 company owned sites and selected dealer sites all over the country. All monies raised through customer and employee donations and fundraising will go to UNICEF Ireland's Emergency Appeal for the children of Haiti. The fuel and convenience retailer and UNICEF Ireland have hailed the generosity of Topaz customers.
An estimated 1.26 million children have been directly affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Approximately 700,000 of them are school-aged. All of them urgently need support and assistance to rebuild their lives.
Melanie Verwoerd, Executive Director of UNICEF Ireland, said "UNICEF Ireland is grateful to our corporate partner, Topaz, who has responded to our Emergency Appeal for the children of Haiti. Their contribution will play a critical role in UNICEF’s continuing work to save children following the earthquake. UNICEF has been working in Haiti since 1949 and we will be there for as long as it takes to re-build children’s lives."
Eddie O’Brien Chief Executive of Topaz said everyone in Topaz had been shocked by the plight of the people in Haiti. “All of us here at Topaz wanted to do something practical and meaningful, something that would get aid to the people who need it most as quickly as possible. We are already in a partnership with UNICEF Ireland so it made perfect sense – given the scale of the disaster - to use our nationwide network for a specific Haiti campaign."
For further Information
Contact Eleanor Newman
Gordon MRM
01-6650454 or 087 – 6440678
Julianne Savage, UNICEF Ireland
Tel. 087 669 4510 julianne@unicef.ie