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An emergency collection to support Unicef’s work for refugee and migrant children affected by the emergency in Syria and neighbouring regions has been instigated by easyJet.
The aim is to help raise money to keep children safe from danger amid estimates that more than two million Syrian children have been forced to abandon their homes and seek refuge in other countries.
Passengers on easyJet flights can donate on board, in any currency, to help Unicef provide supplies such as clean water and medicine for children in Syria and the surrounding region.
The airline has donated £10,000 to start the collection.
At the same time Unicef will continue to be easyJet’s official ‘change of good’ charity partner for another three years until June 2018.
The overall focus of the partnership will continue to be the global eradication of polio, as well as support when an emergency strikes, like the current crisis.
The airline has raised more than £5 million since the partnership began in July 2012, helping Unicef provide vaccines to keep children safe from diseases such as polio, and provide life-saving aid in emergencies.
EasyJet chief executive, Carolyn McCall, said: “The plight of Syrian refugees has affected all of us and in response to requests from our crew we are running a special on board collection to support Unicef’s efforts to care for the children affected by this crisis.
“We hope our support and the generosity of our passengers will make a difference. We are also proud to announce the renewal of our partnership with Unicef.
“Over the past three years our passengers and our people have raised over £5m to support Unicef in making a real difference to the lives of millions of children around the world.
“We would like to thank our 68 million passengers and staff who travel with us each year who have given so generously to our change for good partnership. We are looking forward to furthering our achievements with Unicef over the next three years with a particular focus on the global fight to eradicate polio.”
Unicef UK executive director, David Bull, said: “We’re extremely grateful to the support that easyJet continues to provide to Unicef both through our on-going partnership, which raises funds for polio and in emergency situations. This support is vital for helping children like those currently affected by the humanitarian emergency in Syria.
“Our partnership with easyJet has already achieved so much in the past three years, helping us to purchase 5.3 million vaccines for children and keep two million children safe from polio as well as provide support for emergencies in Nepal and the Syria region.
“We’re very proud to be renewing our contract for another three years with easyJet and continue to make a real difference to the lives of children.”