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Halifax today announced that it has donated £100k to Save the Children following the success of an online awareness campaign over the Christmas and New Year period. Launching an interactive online Christmas choir at the end of last year, Halifax asked Facebook users to sing and record their own version of ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Users could then combine their recording with those of other contributors, including pop-opera stars and Save the Children supporters - Il Divo, creating hundreds of unique online Christmas choirs.
To generate engagement and increase awareness for Save the Children, Halifax pledged to donate £3 for each choir recording and £2 for selecting a ‘Click We’ll Donate’ button. The campaign generated almost 140,000 views, raising close to £25,000 for Save the Children. However, as Save the Children is Halifax’s Charity of the Year for 2011, the bank decided to quadruple this sum, contributing a total of £100k to the charity.
David Nicholson, Managing Director, Halifax Community Bank, said: “The Halifax online Christmas choir was a great way to draw attention to the fantastic work that Save the Children do. The campaign was a great success in getting people involved online. Given the enthusiasm shown for the campaign, I'm very pleased to announce that we will increase the sum we’ll donate to Save the Children to £100k”.
Save the Children has been Halifax's charity of choice since January of 2011, and the partnership has already raised over £1.4 million. Together, Halifax and Save the Children are helping families and schools work together to make sure the UK’s poorest children get the support they need. To date, enough funds have been raised to support more than 7,000 children.
Simone Spray, Head of UK Programmes, Save the Children, said: "Save the Children is overwhelmed by the incredible generosity and support of Halifax through the Online Choir. £100,000 will have a truly transformational impact on the lives of the UK's poorest children and their communities, helping them to succeed at school and in life. Thank you so much to Halifax and everyone who helped by singing for Save the Children, it’s a fantastic way to start the New Year."
About Save the Children - Save the Children works in more than 120 countries. We save children's lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. For more about the charity visit here
