British Airways and UNICEF UK celebrate 15 years of partnership this month through the ‘Change for Good’ programme, which has raised over £26 million to help children all over the world.

The partnership is the most successful charity partnership with a UK airline and is also the longest running and highest fundraising partnership for UNICEF UK.

Change for Good works by encouraging British Airways customers and staff to donate spare foreign currency on every flight, via envelopes that are placed in either headset packs or seatback pockets. During flights Change for Good videos are screened and cabin announcements are made to promote the programme.

There are also more than 2,230 British Airways cabin crew who are ‘Change for Good Champions’, taking responsibility for promoting the partnership on-board.

Since its inception in 1994, Change for Good has funded projects in 56 countries and has supported all the areas of UNICEF’s work. The first country to benefit from monies raised through the programme was Tanzania, where Change for Good money was invested in health, education and HIV prevention programmes.

In recent years, UNICEF work funded by Change for Good has included a malaria prevention programme, helping to distribute 36,000 mosquito nets to children under five and pregnant women in Lagos, Nigeria and a pilot project expanding the foster care system in Sofia, Bulgaria, giving children who are currently living in institutions the opportunity to grow up in loving family environments.

Change for Good money is also vital in helping UNICEF’s work in emergencies. In 2008, in response to the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar (Burma), £300,000 was donated to UNICEF’s emergency relief efforts, helping to provide life-saving supplies such as water purification tablets, drugs, essential medicines and tarpaulins to children left homeless by the cyclone.

The partnership raises approximately £1.3million each year but this year both BA and UNICEF intend to top that, with a target of £1.5million.

Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of BA said, “The lives of thousands of the most vulnerable children around the world have been changed for good, thanks to the unwavering generosity of British Airways customers and incredible support from our cabin crew over the last 15 years. I’ve seen for myself the hope that we can bring to so many young lives and want to thank all those who have made our partnership with UNICEF such a life-changing success.”

David Bull, Executive Director of UNICEF UK added, “On behalf of everyone at UNICEF UK I’d like to say a huge thank you to British Airways and its Cabin Crew and customers for their tremendous dedication, enthusiasm and continued support over the last fifteen years. This partnership proves that small change really can make a big difference. Together we have changed the lives of millions of the world’s poorest children.”

UNICEF UK Ambassador Ewan McGregor also sent a message of thanks to the British Airways staff, “Congratulations to British Airways and UNICEF on celebrating 15 years of Change for Good. Thanks to the generosity of British Airways customers and the dedication of the cabin crew, we’ve been able to make a huge difference for vulnerable children across the world.”

The Change for Good programme operates across all British Airways flights, reaching over thirty million passengers each year.

Background information about projects funded by Change for Good:

Nigeria

Change for Good has been funding projects in Nigeria since 1996, donating over £1 million in total to UNICEF’s work there. Projects that have been supported include; a water and sanitation programme for the slum areas near Lagos, renovation of Kuje School near Abuja and, most recently, the provision and distribution of 36,000 long lasting insecticidal mosquito nets for children under five and pregnant women in Alimosho, Lagos State.

Across Africa a child dies from malaria every thirty seconds. In Nigeria, Government reports estimate that malaria accounts for 20 – 30% of all deaths in children under one year old. Yet the use of insecticide treated nets by children under five and pregnant women is only 6.8%. The £220,000 donation from Change for Good will help to purchase 36,000 long lasting insecticidal mosquito nets, which will reach more than 35% of the target population of Alimosho, Lagos State, preventing the spread of malaria amongst the most vulnerable in the community.

China

In January 2009, Change for Good donated over £230,000 towards UNICEF’s work improving health and education services for over 135,000 children of migrant workers in Beijing. Due to China’s rapid economic expansion and accelerated industrialisation over the past twenty years, the demand for cheap, low-skilled labour has grown exponentially. It is estimated that there are currently 150 million migrant workers in China’s cities, which creates a huge challenge in providing adequate healthcare, education and protection for them and their families.

Thanks to the Change for Good donation, migrant children under 6 will be able to access immunisation services, receiving vaccinations to keep them healthy. The project will also provide library kits to 15 schools to encourage children to learn to read.