Under the Auspices of Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb, touch and the Children Cancer Center in Lebanon Launch ‘Light a Candle’ Digital Initiative to Raise Donations Through touch Self-Care App.
Beirut – March 27, 2015
Under the auspices of Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb, touch, the leading mobile and data operator in Lebanon, managed by Zain Group, the pioneering mobile and data services operator in the Middle East and Africa, and the Children Cancer Center in Lebanon (CCCL) launched Light a Candle, an unprecedented digital initiative in Lebanon and the region, at a joint press conference at the Yacht Club in Zaitunay Bay.
Through touch self-care app, which has exceeded 700000 downloads and is currently the highest rated telecom self-care app in the region on Google Play, a candle can be lit for the CCCL children in exchange for $1, $5, $10, $15, or $20 that will be deducted from the credit of customers with prepaid lines or added to the bill of postpaid lines holders. The generated money will be donated to the CCCL on a monthly basis. The Light a Candle campaign will be active throughout the year to guarantee the maximum number of donations.
On the need for initiatives of the sort, the mother of a previous CCCL patient, Mrs. Gita Bou Nader said, “I have been lighting a candle for my daughter Thea every day for the last five years. The CCCL has had a major role in Thea’s recovery and her triumph over cancer. I am eternally grateful to the CCCL donors whose support has saved my daughter’s life. The survival of the center is the guarantee of the survival of children with cancer in Lebanon.”
On her part, CCCL General Manager, Mrs. Hana Chaar Choueib said, “as the cases of children cancer increase with the years, so does the value of our partnership with touch–a partnership that is a source of unwavering support for the children in our center who receive the best treatment for free and unconditionally. To treat the 275 children currently admitted at the center, we need support, donations, and candles to be lit for their recovery.”
Vice Chairman and General Manager of touch, Wassim Mansour, noted that “touch’s objective through this initiative is to have its core business as a telecom operator serve a noble cause in an innovative way that is in line with our CSR program. This is why we are turning touch mobile self-care app to a digital donation platform through which customers can contribute to the treatment of children fighting cancer.” He added, “This is an unprecedented initiative that’s exclusive to the CCCL and will not be replicated with any other association. “Mansour revealed, “Light a Candle is the first initiative of touch’s Corporate Social Responsibility program, in its new concept entitled “Positive touch”, to be launched this year.” He ended his speech thanking “all touch’s partners who have supported this initiative and helped it materialize, above all the Ministry of Telecommunications that shares touch’s CSR vision and FOO that has developed the Light a Candle feature on touch’s self-care app for free.”
Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb stressed the importance of the initiative in bringing the Lebanese together, “We are launching an initiative to which all other issues, including political ones, are secondary. The issue here is that of the life of children patients. I invite the Lebanese to consider the Light a Candle initiative as an opportunity for their social and humanitarian cooperation to demonstrate how they can help save a child’s life to the entire world.” H.E. the minister ended his note thanking the CCCL and touch for their special initiative.
To download the touch self-care app and donate through Light a Candle icon, click here (iOS App Store) or here (Android Playstore)