Every purchase transaction using BOV Cashlink Cards between 24 July and 31 August will result in an automatic 3 cents donation by Bank of Valletta to Caritas thanks to a new campaign.

The BOV – Caritas Support campaign was launched by Tonio Depasquale, Chief Executive Officer of Bank of Valletta during a media conference which was also addressed by Mgr Victor Grech, Director of Caritas Malta.

“This new campaign that we are launching provides an added incentive for our customers to use the BOV Cashlink, Cashlink Visa and Cashlink Electron cards to pay for their purchases,” said Tonio Depasquale. “Not only do these cards provide a straightforward and efficient payment solution but now, thanks to the BOV Caritas Support campaign, every payment transaction will automatically result in a donation being made by BOV towards Caritas,” added Mr Depasquale.

BOV’s Chief Executive Officer explained that this will not involve any extra cost to the customer or to the merchant but will result in support being provided by Bank of Valletta to Caritas’ most valuable work performed within the Maltese community. “This is an all round win win proposal that we are making to our customers – they will benefit from the efficiency associated with using our cards, Caritas will benefit from the donation of 3 cents per payment transaction that the Bank will be making, and the Bank will be achieving its objectives of promoting more efficient payment methods when compared to cheques or cash,” said Mr Depasquale.

“We also see this promotion in aid of Caritas as another initiative that underlines our strong involvement within the society in which we operate. Indeed, this innovative campaign stems from our resolve to support worthy social initiatives and goes to support the social dimension of our Community Programme”.

Mr Depasquale concluded his address by saying that BOV is fully supportive of the invaluable work being carried out by Caritas within the Maltese society. The Bank has regularly extended its financial support towards a number of Caritas programmes. “Today, through the launch of the BOV – Caritas Support campaign, we are moving away from simply supporting through cash donations. We are actually taking the initiative and launching a scheme that will involve a large part of our 265,000 strong customer base in a national effort to support Caritas. Our aim is to get all the Maltese people to own this initiative – something everyone can do by simply using his Cashlink card when making payments,” concluded Mr Depasquale.

Addressing the media, Mgr Grech outlined how Caritas Malta was the pioneer in drug rehabilitation on the island and how its services have developed over the past 20 years, to include prevention & education, counselling and social work intervention, to name a few.

All Caritas’ services are offered free of charge, and with expenses exceeding Lm40,000 a month, the organisation relies on the support of benefactors and sponsors such as the Bank of Valletta to continue its work with persons in difficulty within the community.” Mgr Grech added “We are extremely grateful to Bank of Valletta for launching this campaign which we are sure will be successful thanks to the generosity of the Maltese public.”

Mgr Grech also mentioned that the success of this campaign will also benefit two specific programs currently being implemented by Caritas. “The success of this campaign will help us finance two important projects namely the Caritas Harm Reduction Shelter, a residential shelter for homeless youngsters. Between January and June, 178 youngsters have sought the services of this service which acts as a drop-in centre offering counseling services.

The other program, the Caritas Focus Program for Schools is a Prevention and Education campaign for children and young persons between 9 and 16 in church, state and private schools. Part of this focus program is the series of “Revive” parties that provide an alternative venue of entertainment for youngsters who can enjoy a cigarette and alcohol free environment.”