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CALGARY -- Canadians have sent a message of compassion to earthquake-stricken Haiti, texting donations of more than $62,000 in less than week in aid of the island nation.
Text message donations to support relief efforts in Haiti reached more than $62,000 from Jan. 15 to Jan. 21, which shows how generous TELUS customers are, said local spokesman Chris Gerritsen.
“The response has been fantastic,” he said.
“They are stepping up and doing their part to help the effort.”
Donations are redistributed to different charitable organizations, including the Red Cross, CARE Canada, UNICEF Canada, World Vision, Plan Canada, Clinton Giustra and the Salvation Army that are working with the Mobile Giving Foundation’s program.
“It is new technology that we have built into our network ... and it’s a great way to make use of it,” he said.
Gerritsen said by visiting www.mobilegiving.ca, donors can contribute funds to the organization of their choice that are each assigned a different shortcode.
He said the disaster has personally impacted the TELUS family too.
“We have more than 30,000 team members across the country and there some who do have friends and family in Haiti,” he said.
“It hits close to home but as Canadians it’s in our nature to help.”
As well, 1,500 mobile phones, adapted for use in Haiti by TELUS’ wireless technicians, are being shipped to HaiTel, a telecommunications provider in Haiti.
The phones will be provided to emergency relief workers to help with communications needs.
katie.schneider@sunmedia.ca