National Solidarity Day raises over CHF10 million for corona impacted
Swiss Solidarity, which has raised almost CHF28 million ($28.8 million) for deprived sections of society since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, concluded with a National Solidarity Day on Thursday.
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Some CHF10.22 million was raised in a single day, Swiss SolidarityExternal link announced on Thursday evening. This brings the total collected since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis to just under CHF28 million, making it the third-largest solidarity collection in the organisation's history.
With the support of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, which also includes swissinfo.ch, Swiss SolidarityExternal link collects money for disadvantaged people. The sum raised will be distributed to charities and NGOs such as the Swiss Red CrossExternal link, CaritasExternal link and Pro SenectuteExternal link, who will funnel funds to those most in need.
These organisations help families in difficult financial situations with meal vouchers and emergency aid donations of up to CHF 1,000. Pro Senectute, which takes care of older people, has already been using funds to support coordinated neighborhood assistance in the canton of Zug.
National Solidarity DayExternal link is a regular feature in Switzerland, but this time did not feature politicians and prominent personalities manning the phones. A special call centre was nevertheless set up for people who cannot contribute online.
A particular feature of the current donation campaign, which kicked off on March 23, is the effort to raise money from companies. One noteworthy contributor has been the Swiss Florists Association, Florist.chExternal link, with its “Easter Basket” campaign that has donated 10% of proceeds to Swiss Solidarity.
Despite being particularly affected by the government lockdown, florists have been offering delivery services or safer options for people to pick up their flowers.
The public was also encouraged to produce short videosExternal link labelled with the #SwissSolidarityChallengeExternal link tag. The challenge ran from April 14 to April 16. The movie makers received a crumpled paper, unfolded it, and read their personal contribution to Swiss solidarity, before passing it on virtually.
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