On 6 June, the Icelandic branch of the Alvogen pharmaceutical group will be holding a charity concert in Reykjavik, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Red Cross, to help raise funds for the survivors of the Nepal earthquake. The concert is set to be held in Reykjavik’s prestigious Harpa Concert Hall and some of the country’s most popular musicians, including Retro Stefson, Amabadama and Ylja, have already offered to perform.
The initiative is a part of Alvogen’s local community outreach programs that involves all employees in making a difference for children. Within Alvogen, local teams are encouraged to reach out to their local communities in the annual Alvogen Community Day and provide support either with direct financial donations or through other means.
The goal is to raise $40,000 and, to make sure none of that is lost, Alvogen will be covering the costs of hosting the event so that all the proceeds go directly to the UNICEF and Red Cross relief effort. In addition to this, Alvogen will be donating a further $30,000 to the cause, which it hopes will bring the total donation to $70,000. Alvogen feels it is vital to support initiatives of this kind and already collaborates with UNICEF and the Red Cross on other programs under the umbrella of the company’s Better Planet global charity fund, which aims to give something back to the communities in which it operates, by directly involving its employees in fund-raising efforts and supporting a broad array of local and global projects.
Over seven million people in Nepal, some 2.8 million of whom are children, are now facing emergency conditions in the wake of the devastating earthquake and urgently need help. It is now estimated that as many 5,000 people perished in the quake and it is feared that this figure could rise when rescue missions reach the more remote areas. In many places there is a shortage of water and food supplies, and electricity grids and mobile phone networks are also down in many places. This emergency situation leaves children particularly exposed and restricted access to clean water and proper hygiene greatly increase the risk of water borne diseases.