Philippine Seven Corporation, operator of the country's largest convenience store chain, 7-Eleven, handed the Philippine Red Cross a cheque donation for P1,326,332 intended for the victims of Typhoon Sendong during a turnover ceremony held recently in Manila.
The amount consists of donations from almost 2,000 donations made in 7-Eleven stores totaling P560,982.00; funds raised from Donate-A-Like on Facebook that reached P265,350.00; and a contribution by PhilSeven Foundation, 7-Eleven's CSR arm, in the amount of P500,000.00.
Present during the ceremony were Jose Victor Paterno, President and CEO of Philippine Seven Corporation and Philippine Red Cross Chairman, Richard J. Gordon.
"We want to help families affected by Typhoon Sendong by giving from our foundation and opening our stores to receiving donations," Mr. Paterno said. "We also utilized our Facebook page with a Donate-A-Like program to reach out to the social network community and give them an opportunity to be involved in the fund raising effort."
Donate-A-Like program makes a donation of P10 to Red Cross for every new Facebook fan. Philippine Seven Corporation pledged to give up to P1M.
"I am very thankful to 7-Eleven and appreciate their continuous efforts to raise funds, not only by opening your stores to accepting donations but also through optimizing social networking and engaging everyone to be part of helping the victims of Sendong," said Richard J. Gordon during the turnover event.
7-Eleven stores continue to accept cash donations from its customers. No service fees are charged for donation transactions and all donors are given an official receipt. Total donations may also be tracked online and donors' names can be viewed via the 7-Eleven Philippines Facebook Page.