News

(Cheque Presentation): Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Officer Mr Rupert Hogg (centre) and Director Customer Mr Simon Large (second from the right) present the 2016 Change for Good donation to UNICEF HK Fundraising Committee Mr David Fong and Chief Executive Ms Jane Lau.

Hong Kong, 7 November 2017 – The Cathay Pacific Group and the Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF HK) today announced that a total of HK$13.2 million was raised from the Change for Good inflight fundraising programme in 2016. Since its launch in Hong Kong, Change for Good has successfully converted spare coins and notes from passengers into life-saving supplies and services to improve the lives of vulnerable children worldwide.

Cathay Pacific has earmarked HK$3.12 million of the total donation in 2016 to support UNICEF’s Schools for Asia programme in China and India. The thematic programme builds on four education pillars – early childhood development, quality learning, equity and education in emergencies. More than HK$10 million will be dedicated to UNICEF’s regular programmes for enhancing the strategic outcomes of health, education, child protection, nutrition, social inclusion, water and sanitation, and HIV/AIDS.

Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Officer Mr Rupert Hogg said, “Since its launch, HK$176 million has been raised through Change for Good, which has been used to improve the lives of a vast number of children around the world. We have been delighted to partner with UNICEF HK and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our passengers for their generosity and our staff, who have supported the programme throughout.”

Mr David Fong, Chairman of UNICEF HK’s Fundraising Committee, said, “We greatly appreciate Cathay Pacific’s long-term support, with their strong commitment to social responsibility and making education available to all. Change for Good represents hope and lasting transformation for children, and it is a significant contributor to UNICEF’s life-saving programmes. I know we can make a real difference for marginalized children, and I sincerely hope that more people can support us through Change for Good.”

Since December 2016, 35 Cathay Pacific staff members, through UNICEF HK’s arrangements, have taken field trips to China, India and Myanmar. In Chongqing, China, some of them visited kindergartens and saw firsthand the differences between schools with and without UNICEF intervention. Through interacting with teachers and students, they learned about how quality education in kindergartens helps children to become more socially confident and equips them with a solid foundation for lifelong learning.

Another group of Cathay Pacific staff members spent five days in Pune, India. UNICEF’s Schools for Asia initiative in India supports a million children across the country through improved information management and monitoring systems of its government programme concerning early childhood education and training support for teachers nationwide.

In Myanmar, Cathay Pacific staff members visited Kayin State, one of the regions most affected by decades of conflict in the country, to learn about the life-threatening issue of landmines and how Myanmar benefits from UNICEF’s regular programmes. The group visited a UNICEF-supported landmine victim assistance centre that provides psychosocial assistance to victims of landmines. They also visited a primary school where mine risk education is conducted, with UNICEF’s support through educational materials and teacher training, to raise children’s awareness of landmine safety, thus reducing the risk of landmine casualties in the long run.

The majority of donations in 2016 were raised in Hong Kong dollars, US dollars, renminbi, New Taiwan dollars and Euros. So far, more than 100 currencies have been collected, reflecting the truly international nature of Change for Good.

Besides helping children worldwide, an average of one month’s proceeds from Change for Good in 2016 will be donated to the Cathay Pacific Wheelchair Bank – an initiative set up in 1996 to improve the mobility of Hongkongers suffering from severe neuromuscular diseases.

-END-

About Change for Good

Cathay Pacific and UNICEF HK have been running the Change for Good inflight fundraising programme since 1991. Travellers on Cathay Pacific flights are encouraged to donate any spare change they have – in any currency – to UNICEF when returning from their journeys. The money collected is used to fund UNICEF’s programmes helping deprived women and children in more than 190 countries and territories around the world.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF

Jamie Wong, Communication Specialist                                        Tel : 2836 2967                                         Email: [email protected]