TORONTO and VANCOUVER – Rogers and Telus were quick to respond to Friday’s devastating earthquake in Japan.
Rogers launched a text-to-donate campaign on Friday afternoon whereby Rogers and Fido wireless customers can text ASIA to 30333 to donate $5 to earthquake relief efforts. There are no additional charges for these texts, and 100% of all donations will go to the Canadian Red Cross Japan Earthquake/Asia-Pacific Tsunami fund.
To help customers stay up-to-date on news and information from Japan, Rogers is making TV Japan available in free preview on Channel 829 to all of its digital cable customers in Ontario.
Telus pledged to donate $100,000 to the Red Cross, Salvation Army and UNICEF to assist in the earthquake relief efforts, as well as match funds raised by its employees in Canada. It also encouraged customers to participate by texting QUAKE to 45678 to donate $10 to The Salvation Army in Canada; texting ASIA to 30333 to donate $5 to The Canadian Red Cross Society; and texting GIVE to 45678 to donate $5 to UNICEF.
The telco also opened up TV Japan in free preview on channel 540 to all of its Optik TV customers.
"Doing our part to assist in relief efforts in Japan is important for Telus because this disaster is not only affecting some of our team members, it’s also affecting our customers and their families," said Jill Schnarr, vice-president of community investment and engagement, in a statement. "Through Telus’ text-to-donate campaign we can have an immediate impact on the organizations working tirelessly to help the victims of this terrible tragedy."
