24 HOUR MARATHON FUNDRAISER COLLECTS € 112.144.000 FROM DUTCH PUBLIC FOR TSUNAMI VICTIMS

24 HOUR MARATHON FUNDRAISER COLLECTS € 112.144.000 FROM DUTCH PUBLIC FOR TSUNAMI VICTIMS

In a 24 hour marathon fundraising effort the Dutch public donated around 112.144.000 euros (about 152 million US dollars) to the relief effort following the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The figure is still on the rise, especially after numerous appeals were broadcast on Dutch radio stations, television, and in newspapers on Thursday.
The day-long event to secure funds for the victims of the Southeast Asian tsunami went through midnight and was watched by just about every Dutch household.
In addition, six million Dutch families will receive a direct debit card in the mail, with which they can transfer money to account number 555, a special national bank account for all disaster relief donations. In an open letter published Thursday in Dutch newspapers, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and opposition leader Wouter Bos called on the Dutch population to make generous donations to the relief fund. The Netherlands, a member of the European Union, has a population of aproximately 16 million people. Total amount of funds collected so far in the European Union have now reached approximately € 1 billion ( about 1.35 billion US dollars) .