More than just good wishes

Buying a greeting card? Get one that raises funds and spreads awareness about organisations that live to help

Some greeting cards are more than a message or a picture. They support a cause, spreading awareness and raising funds. We take a look at the cards coming out of four organisations in the UAE who are working to create a better world.

The United Nations Children’s Fund

The GCC is a “big market” for the Unicef’s $18 million (Dh66 million) greeting cards and gifts operation around the world.

Last year, the Unicef sold 156,000 cards in the UAE alone for Dh57,2500. This year they expect to earn Dh734,000 from selling cards in the UAE.

“Every year we set a target,” says Sana Qureshi, manager, private sector division, UAE, Unicef.

“E-cards have not affected our sales. People know they are supporting a charity cause. Our cards are of world-class quality and it is prestigious to send them to colleagues, business contacts and friends.”

Twenty-one thousand catalogues have been sent to companies around the Gulf. Another 10,000 have been sent to individuals. The Unicef office in the UAE was receiving 30 orders daily in November.

The 2004 collection features a corporate cards segment for the first time. These feature seasonal symbols dressed in gold and silver foil, one-world themes and signature Unicef designs of tiny red figures in snowy landscapes.

In the past, the Unicef collection has seen contributions from Salvador Dali and Henri Matisse. The 2004 collection has work from UAE national artist Reem Akkad and a Palestinian artist based in Saudi Arabia.

Where does the money raised from the cards go? “The money first goes to the central pool in New York and Geneva and is dispersed later to our different programmes around the world,” says Qureshi.

For more information email: unicef@emirates.net.ae

The World Wildlife Fund For Nature

Formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund, this organisation introduced its greeting cards to the region in 1998. The “tremendous response” they received from both local and multinational organisations paved the way for the establishment of its office in the UAE in 2001, says an official from the WWF Project Office in the UAE.

Typically, the WWF prints 43 greeting card designs every year in the UAE. They are sourced, themed and produced here. This year, they have issued 33 designs. The paper is sourced from a local manufacturer and produced from 100 per cent recycled cotton rags.

“In keeping with the WWF philosophy of environment conservation, our products in the catalogue are environmentally sound,” says Frederick Launay, director, WWF project office, UAE.

The themes of this year’s collection continue to be traditional designs that interest both citizens and expatriates.

A heritage collection has subjects such as mosque, lanterns, windtower and dhows. The environment theme features mountains, wadis, dunes, dolphins and corals. The wildlife collection has paintings of flamingos and smiling camels.

The cards use a combination of paintings and photographs donated to the WWF by local artists, photographers and the Canon photo library.

The funds raised from the sale of cards will go towards raising funds for local and international conservation projects.

Says Launay, “The local projects are Operation Oryx, preserving the corals of the Arabian Gulf, fighting against illegal wildlife trade and developing environmental education projects with a direct impact on the status and health of the local environment.”

The WWF Project Office here works through the local Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS).

For more information email: ppl@dubaimediacity.net

Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs, Dubai

The centre’s greeting card project helps raise two-thirds of its annual budget. Last year, the centre raised Dh300,000 from the sale of 162,000 cards.

“The success of this year’s project will mean our supporters have again stood by us and helped us to provide a good service to the community,” says Isphana Al Khatib, director, Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs, Dubai.

Helena Pierloot-Rich, a volunteer, handles the card project. Preparation begins a year in advance as artists and themes are chosen, followed by discussions on the kind of paper, printing and display.

Ethnic images such as dhows, old doors, jewellery etc continue to be popular, Isphana says.

They choose 62 to 82 designs every year and 1,000 cards of each design are printed. Thirty thousand catalogues are distributed across the UAE and more cards are printed when there is an order.

The 2004 catalogue largely features the works of local artists as well as that of students from the Latifa School for Girls and Al Noor itself.

There are many themes. Iraqi artist Ihsan Al Khateeb’s theme is Impression. He does watercolours of Dubai Creek and Baynunah Tower, Abu Dhabi.

Morris Jensen’s theme is Nature’s Majesty. He paints golden hued landscapes of Ras Al Khaimah, while Peter Lawrence draws the creek and dhow in his collection Waterways.

Maruska Lebrun captures the familiar flower in The Bougainvillea Collection, while the Exclusive Collection showcases designs by other artists.

Al Noor students’ Christmas Collection is lively and festive. The Traditional Al Noor Collection focuses on paintings by artists living in the UAE and students from the Latifa School for Girls. These include landscapes and symbols of Arabic culture such as the coffee pot.

For more information email: alnoor00@emirates.net.ae

ILA Special Care Centre, Abu Dhabi

Arabian symbols sketched by children with special needs dominate the greeting card collection of Abu Dhabi’s ILA (Indian Ladies Association) Special Care Centre again this year.

For nine years, the Special Care Centre has made it a point to print greeting cards displaying their students’ talent.

Says Nisha Thomas, the centre’s principal, “At one time we were printing 20,000 cards and raising funds. The number has dwindled to 8,000 for the past three years because of the popularity of e-cards. But we continue to bring out the cards every year, to create awareness about the efforts of special needs children.”

The cards, priced at Dh2, centre on subjects popular to the region such as camels, coffee pots, deserts and mosques.

Venkatesh Kutty’s camel sketch stands out against a pastel pink background, while Sruthi Sankar’s camel and fort are in sand brown. Award-winning student Manoj Cherian’s card has a Santa bringing in cheer.

The paintings of artists who have donated their work to the centre also feature in this collection. They include Sheela Abu Koshy (also a teacher at the centre), Anuradha Krishnan, Jyoti Nagpal and Radha Rao.

For more information email: ilaspcc@emirates.net.ae