GO has teamed up with St Aloysius College (SAC) and is pledging its full support to a massive fund-raising campaign to be held in the St Aloysius College Grounds and Sports Complex in Birkirkara. The campaign, ‘Haiti Cries’, aimed to create awareness and raise funds for the victims of the Haiti quake, starts at 10am on Wednesday, 10 February and will run till late on the same day. Apart from financial assistance, GO has signed up as communications partner for the event and will be setting up an SMS system to receive donations from the public on 10 February.
SMS donations will be received on three numbers in line with the value of the donation being pledged – 5061 8092 for a donation of e4.66; 5061 8912 for a donation of e6.99 and 5061 9209 for a donation of e11.65. The major part of funds raised (75 per cent) will go to the Salesian missions in Haiti whose schools were badly hit in the quake while the Jesuit refugee service of the Dominican Republic, which is leading the Jesuit aid effort to earthquake victims, will benefit from the remaining 25 per cent of the funds collected.
The event is expected to attract huge crowds from all walks of life who are expected to respond to the SAC appeal and meet in the college grounds in solidarity with the ill-fated people of Haiti. ‘Haiti Cries’ will involve a wide range of various activities targeting entertainment for the whole family. The day-long campaign will include football and table tennis tournaments, a Bring & Buy book stall, creative writing competitions, talks on contemporary understanding of suffering, a prayer tent, a painting area, audio-visual presentation zone with news updates, hair braiding, hourly drum workshops, an outdoor kids’ area as well as a story-telling corner for youngsters – and lots more!
Speaking about the ‘Haiti Cries’ event, Priscilla Pirotta from the Communications team at GO said: “We are delighted to be supporting the SAC fund-raising campaign that will no doubt prove to be a sure success encouraging Maltese families to participate and donate generously to this very worthy cause.
“GO is indeed proud to be joining forces with the team players of this amazing philanthropic experience – a brainchild of the Jesuit community in Malta. Incidentally, the initiative further enhances the excellent relations that exist between GO and St Aloysius College. It further proves that GO is truly committed to the principles of effective corporate social responsibility.”
During a presentation held at the college grounds in Birkirkara, SAC rector, Fr Patrick Magro sj, thanked GO for its ongoing support particularly to the SAC sixth form, which in itself, he said, is a vital contribution to the country’s development. On the subject of ‘Haiti Cries’, Fr Magro said: “The success of our ambitious fund-raising campaign in aid of Haiti earthquake victims depends entirely on the generosity of the Maltese community. I have no doubt that Maltese society will rise to the occasion and respond to our appeal. I have no doubt that families will visit us on the public holiday next week and donate generously to this very deserving cause.” College students who are currently helping out with the organisation of the SAC ‘Haiti Cries’ event, attended the presentation.
Monetary donations can be made to Bank accounts namely HSBC Account: 085111995050 and BOV Account: 40018763823. Cheques may be made payable to Fr Eric Cachia, Salesian Oratory, 20 Karm Galea Street, Sliema or to JRS Malta, St Aloysius Sports Complex, 50 Triq Xorrox, Birkirkara. Donation boxes will be set up on site during the ‘Haiti Cries’ event on 10 February.