Restaurants & cafes urged to join kids campaign

UNICEF NZ (UN Children’s Fund)
Media Release

UNICEF releases Tap Project video

Restaurants & cafes urged to join campaign for children

Wellington, 2 March 2009. – The UN Children’s Fund has produced a short video about its month-long fundraiser that kicks off in New Zealand on 9 March.

The Tap Project raises money for UNICEF’s life-saving water projects in the developing world. It works by restaurants and cafes around the country asking diners to donate $1 or more for the clean, healthy tap water they normally provide free of charge.

About 110 restaurants and cafes all over New Zealand -- including nationwide chains Columbus Coffee and Nando’s Chicken -- have already signed up with the Tap Project. And with the help of some 30 volunteers, more restaurants and cafes are expected to register in the coming days.

The three-minute video features one of the enthusiastic Tap Project volunteers and a participating restaurant’s spokesperson who urges others to join the campaign.

The video also highlights the desperate need of more than a billion people for access to clean, safe water in the world. Lack of clean and accessible drinking water is the second biggest killer of children under five worldwide -- nearly 5,000 children die every day as a result of water-related diseases like diarrhoea, typhoid and malaria.

The full video is available at http://www.unicef.org.nz/page/231/TapProject.html

UNICEF Tap Project Co-ordinator, Carolyn Shivanandan, says that there has been a terrific amount of support for the campaign, including from restaurants and cafes outside the major centres.

“For example, we’ve got restaurants and cafes in Paihia, Te Kuiti, Kapiti, Lake Tekapo, Te Anau, Amberley, and Darfield.

“The Kapiti region in particular is turning out to be something of a star performer with 17 participating eateries so far.

“Other regions will really need to pull finger so as not to be left behind.”

Ms Shivanandan says that funds from this year’s Tap Project will support UNICEF water-projects in Laos.

How to join
To join the Tap Project, restaurants and cafes may phone 0800-537-739 or E-mail: tapproject@unicef.org.nz

Find out more
To find out more about the campaign and see a list of participating restaurants and cafes go to www.tapproject.org.nz

It’s almost time to turn on the Tap! Support Tap Project between 9 March and 9 April – Dine at a Tap Project Restaurant, donate online at www.tapproject.org.nz or txt TAP to 833 for an automatic $3 donation.

ENDS

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