There is much buzz around the blogosphere about UNICEF’s ‘Give the Gift of Life’ campaign in corporate partnership with Pampers and Fairy, in the UK and Ireland. Lots of lovely bloggers* from the UK and Ireland met with Pampers and UNICEF representatives plus celebrity ambassador Natascha McElhone in London earlier this week.
The campaign’s aim is to eliminate maternal and newborn tetanus in the developing world by 2012. In the west we are lucky, this disease has been totally eliminated through our vaccination programs but in developing countries 128,000 mothers and babies a year are killed by this disease which is so easily preventable. This simple vaccination saves lives and costs virtually nothing.
I have copied the information below from the UNICEF website:
“This Christmas, UNICEF UK is teaming up with Pampers for the fourth year running to raise money for life-saving tetanus vaccines. Fairy Non-Bio and Fairy Fabric Softeners have joined the partnership for the first time, in an effort to help raise the funding for a further 100 million vaccines.
From 1 October 2009, Pampers and Fairy will produce special UNICEF packs featuring a ’1 Pack = 1 Life-Saving Vaccine’ logo. For every product purchased, parent company Procter & Gamble will donate the cost of one tetanus vaccine to UNICEF, to help protect a mother and baby in need. Launched in 2006, the initiative has so far funded approximately 44 million vaccines from money raised in the UK alone.
The ‘Give the Gift of Life’ initiative will be supported by a nationwide marketing campaign, including TV and press adverts, direct mail and in store promotions, to raise awareness amongst consumers. A ‘Thank you’ campaign from 1 to 15 January 2010 will bring the initiative to an end, acknowledging key UNICEF supporters and announcing how many vaccines have been provided.
“It is unacceptable that thousands of babies are dying because of newborn tetanus, a disease which is easily preventable through an inexpensive vaccination,” UNICEF UK Deputy Executive Director Fiona Hessleden comments.
“Our partnership with Pampers can help protect millions of newborns and their mothers around the world from this life threatening disease and help them realise their right to a happy, healthy childhood. It is fantastic that, with Pampers’ vital support, we can also help countries move closer to the goal of eliminating this disease by 2012,” she adds.”
I think corporate sponsorships can work extremely well to bring campaigns which may not have been seen otherwise into the public eye. I buy Pampers for Big E and we use Fairy Non Bio so it’s good to know that my regular purchasing habits will be doing some good.
If you don’t use Pampers or Fairy there is a simple and free way you can help donate. All you have to do is download the Virtual Gift of Life from the Pampers website. Each time the gift is downloaded Pampers will donate another vaccination.
Carol at ‘New Mummy’, one of the bloggers who attended the London launch, tagged me in her Virtual Gift of life Meme and wanted me to tag 5 other bloggers but (because I’m such a rebel, snort) instead I am asking that if you are reading this please take a few seconds to download the Virtual Gift of Life. It would be brilliant if you could ask others to do the same, if you want to blog about it that’s double fab and if you want to put a link in your side bar to the download, triple ace. Every time the song is downloaded it could save a life.
If the idea of corporate sponsorship doesn’t fit with your ethics but you still want to support UNICEF and its various campaigns then you can make a one off donation directly to UNICEF or as Josie at ‘Sleep is for the Weak’ suggests in her alternative post about the campaign, you could set up a £3 per month Direct Debit donation to UNICEF.
Whatever you choose to do or however you choose to donate this is certainly a cause worth getting behind.
Thanks for listening.
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*Hot Cross Mum, Cafe Bebe, Rosie Scribble, New Mummy, Bringing Up Charlie, Manic Mammy, Dad.ie, Mummy Maps, Babyccino.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks hun x
Lovely post and a nice perspective on how else to get involved. Great stuff
great post!
Thank you for sharing this information. I'm embarrassed to admit that I was not aware of it before. What a wonderful thing though!
Nicely put. I've been amazed by the breadth of posts on this subject. You'd think with so many of us blogging it, it might've become a bit repetitive. But everyone has had their own angle, their own unique contribution. Thanks for yours!