Jashanmal offers 1% of sales to aid drive

Dubai: A Dubai-based wholesaler, distributor and retailer joined the Dubai Cares initiative, announcing it would donate one per cent of its gross retail sales from its 19 Dubai stores throughout October.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Matoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, established Dubai Cares, which works to channel donations into educational funds in poverty-stricken countries and to help achieve 2015 UN Millennium Development Goals.

Jashanmal National Company announced in a statement yesterday that one per cent of its gross retail sales would go into funding education for one million children.

According to the statement, Gangu Batra, chief executive officer of Jashanmal, said the donation was "not just a gesture of participation but a sincere effort to help".

"We strongly believe in the old adage 'Give a man a fish, and you have fed him for a day, but teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime'. The Dubai Cares initiative incorporates this profound concept," he said.

"Only through education will children be able to sustain a better and stable life for themselves, and pass on the benefits to future generations," he added.

Jashanmal National Company takes in millions of dirhams in sales monthly.

Jashanmal's participation adds to a growing list of prominent Dubai-based companies, such as Tatweer and GEMS Group, families and private citizens, who have pledged support for the initiative. The latest example includes a charity auction of artworks and personal items belonging to Shaikha Manal Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women Establishment, which will be held at Emirates Towers Terrace on October 18.

The auction will also feature items belonging to prominent families from the UAE. More than Dh800 million have been raised so far, surpassing the initial target of Dh200 million, with more expected in the coming weeks.

Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, has directed proceeds from an auction of vehicle number plates to go to Dubai Cares. He also directed the Road Transport Authority to donate six weeks of Salik toll revenues to the initiative and display the total donation on Salik toll gates.

The public can also participate by purchasing Dubai Cares merchandise on sale at Enoc and Eppco petrol stations.