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According to Pasquale Baiguera, General Manager, Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Media City, last year's inaugural appeal was warmly received by the construction industry and displayed the spirit of the community giving during the Holy Month.
"Last year, the Shoe Box Appeal surpassed its target by 300% with 7,500 filled shoe boxes donated by the business community, organisations and individuals. The month-long campaign generated more than Dhs937,000 worth of donations.
"This year, we have set our sights on topping the Dhs1m mark as we reach out to more than 35,000 members working in the TECOM community, and organisations in Dubai and neighbouring emirates.
"We provide shoe boxes along with a list of items that are daily essentials for the workers. The construction workers find this Ramadan gift containing essential items a useful and comforting gesture of appreciation for their efforts in building our city,"
Baiguera said.
Joining Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Media City and TECOM Investments, a member of Dubai Holding and leading developer of knowledge-based business clusters, is Union Paper Mills and regional PR firm, Strategic Solutions. The 2009 campaign also has City 7 TV, the premier English language TV channel of UAE as supporting Media Sponsor.
The donations collected are distributed to the construction workers by Helping Hands, who have been involved in pioneering community work since 2006.
Elle, of the Roger and Elle duo at Helping Hands, confirmed that the Shoe Box Appeal is designed for the migrant workers who are 'responsible for building this city'.
She said that a seemingly simple item like a money belt, for example, can make big change in life of a worker. It allows him to carry his daily and security essentials with him at all times.
"Personal items make for excellent contents for the Shoe Box.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Abdullah, Executive Director, Dubai Media City and spokesperson for TECOM Investments applauded the campaign.
"As a socially responsible organisation, TECOM Investments believes in extending a helping hand to worthy social and humanitarian causes. We are pleased to support the Ramadan Shoe Box Appeal in its second year," he said.
TECOM has offered collection and donation points throughout TECOM Free Zones, including Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and Dubai Knowledge Village.
The campaign works on the concept of collecting daily-use essentials items in a shoe box. Union Paper Mills is supplying the purpose-designed 'shoe boxes'.
"We believe in the concept of the Shoe Box Appeal as a gift by the people of the UAE to construction workers; as a means of showing our appreciation to them. We took the decision to continue our support as last year's results showed the power of such an initiative," said Huzaifa F Rangwala, Deputy Manager - Raw Materials, Union Paper Mills.
"We found this campaign very real and powerful. It offers all the people an opportunity to support a section of our community. City 7 TV is a socially responsible organisation and we want to play an active role, to reach out to a wider community and bring awareness in the country," said Ossama Barahim, General Manager City7 TV.
"We are convinced that media can play a big role in community campaign such as this and we intend to use our reach in the country to accelerate the collection drive," Barahim added.
Susan Furness, CEO, Strategic Solutions agreed: "The Ramadan Shoe Box Appeal is a simple idea that works very well. The 2008 campaign made a big impact on the right people, both the givers and receivers. Indeed, the collection points and bulk donations are coordinated by more than 200 volunteers.
"Last year, we saw that the response came swiftly from a cross-section of sectors including schools, corporates and individuals touching the lives of more than 7,000 people. We have set our sights to be up at least 25% this year," she concluded.
DHL, the logistics specialists have once again decided to support the campaign. DHL will work closely with Helping Hands to manage the distribution of shoe boxes to the migrant workers across UAE.
The campaign runs till September 30 2009 and also marks the annual Responsible Business Month for Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Media City.
Shoe Box Appeal 2009: Play your part in achieving 10,000 shoe boxes
• All individuals, groups and communities are invited to participate.
• Fill any number of boxes; the more the merrier in the drive to achieve the target of 10,000 boxes, up 25% on 2008
• Collect empty shoe boxes from the main reception at the Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Media City, or any of the TECOM collection points, between 9 to 6 pm, Sunday to Thursday
• The list of items is available with each box
• No food or money is to be placed in the shoe box
• Filled show boxes are accepted at Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Media City, as well at TECOM collection points.
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Posted by Rima Ali Al Mashni
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