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K-food stores and Chiquita donated the huge sum of 221,274 euros to the 'Give Children a Life' campaign in its anniversary year. This was the tenth time K-food stores and Chiquita took part in the 'Give Children a Life' campaign. The funds collected will be used to buy intensive care equipment for premature babies to the children's clinics at Finland's five central university hospitals.
"Children and the young have a central position in K-food stores' work for responsibility, through which we want to promote a good and healthy childhood. It has been a pleasure to see how eagerly our customers have participated in this important campaign," says Terho Kalliokoski, Kesko Food's President.
The 'Give Children a Life' collection started on 1 April 2008 in K-food stores, where every kilo of Chiquita bananas sold contributed to the total. Most of the total sum donated came from the sales of Chiquita and Chiquita Mini's: three cents for every kilo of bananas sold.
"It has been great to have such long-term sponsor cooperation with K-food stores and Chiquita. The importance of this cooperation becomes evident when you visit the clinics and see how the equipment purchased with the money raised is used to treat the little patients. The total sum donated over the decade is so significant that it has helped essentially improve the equipment in the children's clinics at Finland's five central university hospitals," says Maria Ekroth from the Association of Friends of the University Children's Hospitals.
"We want to highlight responsibility in both the producing countries and in Finland. The 'Give Children a Life' collection is an important part of Chiquita's work in Finland for the benefit of the surrounding society and children, in particular. We are very pleased that we have together managed to raise considerable sums of money to help the little children," says Heidi Zühlke, Chiquita Nordic's Country Manager.
The Association's collection boxes at K-food store checkouts have also been filled up. The box collection at K-citymarkets, K-supermarkets, K-markets and K-extras will continue until the end of September. The collected sum has already exceeded the targets set and is the best of all times.
A total of 1,307,995 euros in ten years
The campaign of the anniversary year culminates in the 'Give Children a Life' concert arranged in Hartwall Areena in Helsinki on 10 September 2008. During ten years, the funds of 1,307,995 euros donated by K-food stores and Chiquita have been used to acquire new incubators, intensive monitoring units, respirators, infusion pumps and other intensive care equipment to the newborn babies' intensive care units of the Finnish university hospitals.
For example 5-10 infusion pumps are needed for each premature baby in the unit. Around 50 premature infants can be cared for in a single incubator unit in a year, and each unit has a service life of around 10 years. About 4 percent of babies are born premature in Finland every year.
Further information: Niina Ryynänen, Vice President, Customer Relationship, Kesko Food Ltd, tel. +358 1053 37100 Maria Ekroth, Executive Director, the Association of Friends of the University Children's Hospitals, tel. +358 9 682 45215 Heidi Zühlke, Country Manager, or Sanna Tapio, PR Coordinator, Chiquita Nordic, tel. +358 9 231 2220
Kesko (www.kesko.fi) is a retail specialist whose stores offer quality to the daily lives of consumers. Kesko has about 2,000 stores engaged in chain operations in the Nordic and Baltic countries, Russia, and Belarus.
