Swiss give ‘second Christmas’ to those in need

The Swiss public this year donated 61,170 unwanted or surplus presents for the “2 x Christmas” campaign, including 59,400 gift packages and 1,770 online parcels that will be given to people living in poverty across Switzerland and in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. 

Volunteers at the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) logistics centre in Bern are now unpacking and sorting the parcels that donors sent in for the 23rd edition of the “2 x Christmas” campaign.

“The contents of the parcels really cover the demand for long-lasting food and hygiene products – and from year to year it’s getting better and better,” says Dorothee Minder, who manages the SRC campaign. Last year 60,000 parcels were donated. 

“We’re noticing that donors are increasingly aware of what goods we collect. This enables us to help people more efficiently,” she said. 

From the end of January the SRC will distribute the goods within Switzerland. The SRC uses the donations of the online parcels, worth CHF224,000 ($232,000), to finance projects fighting famine and poverty in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan.

The “2 x Christmas” campaign is sponsored by the Swiss Red Cross, Coop, the Swiss Post and the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, swissinfo.ch’s parent company.