BA is thanking its generous customers, after British Airways raised £111,255 for the Ebola appeal through on board donations in just two weeks. This is the highest amount ever raised on flights for a one-off appeal.
The airline, which usually collects money for its ‘Flying Start’ partnership with Comic Relief, redirected funds to support the global Ebola appeal last month (November 9-22), with every single penny, cent yen and euro going towards it.
Additionally, the airline has also just reached its milestone fundraising figure of £9 million for Comic Relief in the four years since the partnership launched.
Mary Barry, British Airways’ community investment manager, said: “We would like to thank the millions of British Airways customers that so generously donate their spare change towards our charitable fundraising. “For the recent Ebola appeal we collected an immense £111,255 on flights in just two weeks – with one customer even donating 1000 euros. It’s extremely humbling and will help save the lives of many.”
Emma Freud, director of Red Nose Day, said: “This epic figure for Comic Relief is so much more than we dreamed our partnership with British Airways would achieve in four years. We are in awe of the fundraising activities that the BA staff have taken on, incredibly grateful to all the customers who have given so generously, and we promise to spend the money brilliantly to tackle the root causes of extreme poverty all over the world.”
To date, British Airways has raised £9 million for Flying Start since the partnership launched in 2010. All the money raised supports projects in the UK and around the world, to help vulnerable and disadvantaged children.
Speaking on the Ebola fundraising, DEC Chief Executive, Saleh Saeed, said: “We would like to thank British Airways customers who have shown such great humanity towards the Ebola crisis in West Africa. The incredibly kind donations will go towards life-saving work in our united and sustained fight.”
The airline has also funded trucking for Oxfam to provide essential water and sanitation to reach those affected by Ebola in Africa.
For more information, or to show your support, please visit www.DEC.org.uk
or text ‘donate’ to 70000 to give £5.
