Strong show of support in donating to the Philippines
During the months of November and December, money collected via “donate” buttons on recycling machines at Willys stores went directly to Save the Children’s relief work in the Philippines. To further encourage donations, Willys pledged to double the sum donated by customers. The result was a 38% rise in customers’ donations from bottle and can deposits, and nearly SEK 1.3 m in total to Save the Children’s disaster fund.
Following the devastation from Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, many customers showed an interest in contributing to the relief work. Willys and other Axfood store chains also wanted to make an impact. The decision was therefore made to steer the money raised via “donate” buttons on the stores’ bottle and can recycling machines directly to Save the Children’s disaster fund and relief work in the Philippines. Moreover, the decision was made that for each krona donated by customers, the stores would match with an equal amount.
The result was a large upswing in the number of customers who chose to donate their deposit money to Save the Children. A total of SEK 630,000 was raised via recycling machines – an increase of 38% compared with the same period a year ago. After Willys, Hemköp and PrisXtra stores matched this amount, a total donation of nearly SEK 1.3 m was made to Save the Children’s disaster fund. In all, Willys donated more than SEK 2.4 m to Save the Children via recycling donations in 2013.
“The show of support among our customers has been noticeable, and it is tremendous that so many have stepped forward with donations to the disaster fund,” comments Thomas Evertsson, President of Willys. “We are also happy to be able to contribute to the important work carried out by Save the Children.”
The money in Save the Children’s disaster fund is earmarked for Save the Children’s work on providing life-saving support and security to children and their families suffering from a humanitarian disaster or armed conflict. The money in the disaster fund allows Save the Children to provide fast emergency support immediately after a disaster has occurred.
For further information, please contact:
Johanna Eurén, Communication Manager, Willys, tel. +46-070-346 13 48
About Willys:
Willys is Sweden’s leading discount food retail chain. Willys has approximately 180 stores throughout Sweden, of which some 40 are neighbourhood stores called Willys Hemma. Willys has annual sales of more than SEK 19.4 bn (2012) and is part of Axfood AB, which is listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm AB’s Large Cap list. Read more at www.willys.se.