Cathay Pacific raised over HK$7.5 million for Change for Good

Cathay Pacific Airways is pleased to announce that over HK$7.5 million was raised for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) through its "Change for Good" inflight fund-raising programme last year.

At a ceremony held at Cathay City today, the two organisations also officially launched the annual Change for Good programme for 2002/03. This year, the fund-raising period will be from 15 August 2002 to 14 August 2003. 

Speaking at the ceremony, Cathay Pacific Director and Chief Operating Officer Philip Chen said: "As an international airline based in Hong Kong, we are strongly committed to helping the needy in all the communities we serve. We are pleased to have raised over HK$7.5 million to support UNICEF's relief programmes around the world."

Last year, the charity drive was extended from six months to a year. Donation was collected from 14th August 2001 to 15th August 2002 on all Cathay Pacific flights, and the amount of proceeds weighed a total of 6,167 kg, equivalent to the weight of a Rolls-Royce engine. 

The average proceeds of one month, or HK$560,000, was also donated to the Cathay Pacific Wheelchair Bank, which was established in 1996 to help local children suffering from neuromuscular diseases. 

Change for Good involves asking passengers to donate their spare change they bring back from overseas trips for charity. During the fund raising period, Cathay Pacific passengers can make a donation by placing their spare foreign change in a "Change for Good" envelopes which they can find in their seat pockets. All they have to do then is hand the envelopes to cabin crew.

Since its inception in 1991, Cathay Pacific has now raised a total of HK$40 million for UNICEF in support of their relief programmes in 161 developing countries around the world.