JTI set to match worldwide employee donations to Philippines relief effort

Japan Tobacco International employees worldwide have been asked to make donations to a fund set up to help the victims of typhoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines early in November.

JTI has agreed to match any donations made by its employees.

Typhoon Haiyan, or Yolanda as it is known in the Philippines, made landfall there on November 8, bringing record winds and causing huge sea surges.

The typhoon caused massive damage and casualties in nine regions of the Philippines. It affected almost 15 million people and displaced about four million.

In an announcement posted on the Japan Tobacco Inc. website yesterday, JTI Philippines was said to have organised volunteers from among its employees to work in the affected areas.

In addition, the employees had donated P1 million in aid and P1 million in relief goods.

The JTI Foundation, an independent charitable organization registered under Swiss law and financially endowed by JT International SA, which specializes in providing aid to victims of disasters, is partnering with Habitat for Humanity International to support a recovery project worth about US$224,000.

Meanwhile, the foundation will continue to support two ongoing disaster preparedness programs in the Philippines: a family saving initiative for the poor and a project to prevent post-disaster human trafficking.

There is more information at: www.jtifoundation.org.