EASYJET PASSENGERS ARE TRUE SANTA CLAUSES THIS CHRISTMAS

easyJet and UNICEF celebrate over £1 million raised through passenger donations to help world’s children

2012-12-14 — /travelprnews.com/ — Today more than two hundred ‘Santa Clauses’ took up poll position to unveil an exclusively branded ‘Change for Good’ plane as easyJet, the UK’s largest airline and UNICEF, the world’s leading children’s organization, celebrate raising over £1 million through passenger donations.

Since the partnership launched in July 2012, easyJet passengers have proven that you don’t need to be a Santa to give a child a gift this Christmas with the £1 million donated through spare change and unused foreign currency enabling UNICEF to protect nearly 2.5 million children and mums against deadly diseases, including maternal and newborn tetanus.

The stars of the day’s ceremony were children from Luton’s Ashcroft High School who brought festive cheer along with easyJet pilots, cabin crew and an abundance of Santa Clauses.

From Friday 14th December easyJet crew across Europe will be dressed in Santa hats to encourage passengers to donate even more to UNICEF throughout the festive period. In addition, all passengers travelling with easyJet tomorrow will receive complimentary chocolates as a thank you for supporting the ‘Change for Good’ programme.

A small amount of change can make a huge difference:

• Everyday, 4,000 children die from deadly, but easily preventable disease, such as measles or polio
• But just 40p could cover the full cost of vaccinating a child against one of these life threatening diseases

Carolyn McCall, easyJet’s Chief Executive said:

”We are absolutely thrilled to have raised £1m, it will help save the lives of so many children. I’d like to thank our passengers who have so generously donated to this worthy cause and everyone at easyJet who has supported the fundraising effort.”

UNICEF UK Executive Director, David Bull said:

“As the cold winter months set in, the generosity and support shown by easyJet passengers has been truly heart-warming. There is no doubt they are the real Santa Clauses this Christmas. The spare change they donate every time they fly – however big or small – will help UNICEF give children a truly life-saving gift this Christmas; vaccines to protect them from diseases which could otherwise take their life.”

The partnership runs across easyJet’s pan-European network of over 600 routes across more than 30 countries during the summer and winter months.

The initiative is part of UNICEF’s global ‘Change for Good’ programme, which has raised £53 million for the world’s most vulnerable children in partnership with leading airlines across the globe.

Over the winter season passengers can donate on board from 1^st December to 31^st January.

-ENDS-

For more information about easyJet please contact Andrew McConnell on 01582525252 or email andrew.mcconnell2@easyjet.com

For more information about UNICEF please contact Liz Jones on 07896 418445lizj@unicef.org.uk or Georgina Thompson on 07834 600364 georginat@unicef.org.uk

About easyJet:
easyJet operates Europe’s No. 1 air transport network with a leading presence on Europe’s top 100 routes and at Europe’s 50 largest airports. easyJet flies on more than 600 routes between over 130 airports in over 30 countries. More than 300 million Europeans live within one hour’s drive of an easyJet airport, more than any other airline. The airline takes sustainability seriously. easyJet invests in the latest technology, operates efficiently and fills most of its seats which means that an easyJet passenger’s carbon footprint is 22 per cent less than a passenger on a traditional airline, flying the same aircraft on the same route.

About UNICEF
UNICEF is the world’s leading organization working for children and their rights in more than 190 countries. As champion of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF works to help every child realise their full potential. Together with partners, UNICEF delivers health care, nutrition, education and protection to children in urgent need, while working with governments to ensure they deliver on their promise to protect and promote the rights of every child. UNICEF relies entirely on voluntary donations from individuals, businesses, foundations, and governments, and is not funded by the UN budget.

About ‘Change for Good’
‘Change for Good’ is UNICEF’s global initiative run in partnership with leading airlines all over the world. The airline partners include: American Airlines, Qantas and Cathay Pacific as well as easyJet in the UK. In total, ‘Change for Good’ globally has raised over £53 million for UNICEF’s work with children.

 

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