H&M Foundation donates $3.3 million [£2.7 million] for education for refugee children

STOCKHOLM, 24 JANUARY 2017 – A global campaign by non-profit H&M Foundation has generated $3.3 million [£2.7m] to support UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in its work to provide education for refugee children.

Launched in November 2016, the campaign aimed to help refugee children get the school supplies they need to go to school. For every H&M gift card sold during the holidays in some 4,000 H&M stores worldwide, H&M Foundation made a donation in support of refugee children. This will benefit refugee children across the world, including in Chad, Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Uganda and Yemen.

Over half of all refugees are children. Only 50 per cent have access to primary school and even less have the chance to continue to secondary school.

Ensuring that they have access to education is central to UNHCR. It is also critical to help refugee children build better futures for themselves and their communities.

Thanks to the campaign, refugee children will receive supplies such as textbooks and stationery. These supplies are important to ensuring that refugee children can go to and stay in school.

“Refugee children are five times more likely to be out of school than other children. This is why providing the supplies they need to go to school is so crucial. With this donation, UNHCR can ensure an education for many children in crisis settings across the world,” said Diana Amini, Global Manager for H&M Foundation.

“We want to thank H&M employees and customers for supporting H&M Foundation’s global campaign with UNHCR. Education is critical to ensuring that refugee children can go on to lead more productive lives. Yet it remains underfunded. Through campaigns like these, the public can make a real difference in the lives of refugee children around the world.” said Lionello Boscardi, UNHCR Head of Partnerships.

Read more about the partnership between H&M Foundation and UNHCR: http://www.unhcr.org/hm-foundation.html

Media contacts:

Alison Cassells

Associate Fundraising Communication Officer, UNHCR

[email protected]

+45 45 33 65 30

Malin Björne

PR & Communication Responsible, H&M Foundation

[email protected]

+46 (0) 70 796 39 75

About UNHCR:

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organisation dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. UNHCR leads international action to protect people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution. UNHCR delivers life-saving assistance like shelter, food and water, helps safeguard fundamental human rights, and develops solutions that ensure people have a safe place to call home where they can build a better future. UNHCR also works to ensure that stateless people are granted a nationality. UNHCR’s dedicated teams are on the ground in some 128 countries across the world, working in partnership with governments, NGOs, the private sector, community groups, host communities as well as refugees.

About H&M Foundation:

H&M Foundation is a non-profit global foundation, privately funded by the Stefan Persson family, founders and main owners of the fashion company H&M. Its mission is to create long lasting positive change and improve living conditions by investing in communities, people and innovative ideas. Through partnerships with prominent organizations around the globe, H&M Foundation drives change within four focus areas; Education, Clean water, Equality and Protecting the planet. In addition, H&M Foundation can also provide emergency relief. H&M Foundation has been working with UNHCR since 2015, when it donated US$500,000 in support of UNHCR’s response to the Europe emergency, helping to provide much needed food, shelter, medical care as well as registration services and special support for children.