Helping the girls of the world to get an education

The joint Finnair and Unicef Change for Good drive will start on the airline's flights for the eighth time this year. Funds are being raised to help the girls of the world to get an education. This year Finnair will also donate the funds set aside for Christmas cards and gifts to the campaign. A small sum goes a long way: for example, the education of a Nepalese girl for a whole year costs 12 euros.

The Finnair and Unicef Change for Good campaign will commence on Finnair flights on December 1st and end on Christmas Eve, December 24.

"Finnair also wants to do its part in the community, and it is our pleasure to work together with our oneworld partners and Unicef once again for the Change for Good drive. We would like to thank our passengers for joining us in helping the girls of the world on the road to education for the third year running," says Finnair VP Corporate Communications, Christer Haglund.

Participating in the Change for Good campaign is easy. The collection envelopes are already distributed to the aircraft's seat pockets. The donation is placed in the envelope, the envelope is closed and then returned to the cabin attendants. Collection boxes have also been placed in the Finnair lounges in Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and Stockholm Arlanda Airport.

This is the eighth year that the Change for Good campaign is organised on Finnair flights. Earlier campaigns have collected a total of 600,000 euros. Funds from the campaign were used for the aid of children in Ruanda in 1994 and 1996. In 1998 the campaign was aimed at helping children battling drug problems in Kaliningrad. In 1999 and 2000 donations went to Ethiopia. In the past two years, as well as this year, funds are raised for the education of the girls of the world. The patron of the Change for Good campaign again this year is Professor Pentti Arajärvi, spouce of the President of Finland.

The Change for Good campaign is the common charity for oneworld airlines. Since 1991, participating oneworld Change for Good airlines have collected almost 38 million dollars to help the children of the world.