Phones for Change, snow & Radio in Canada
- By Richard Branson -
- Oct 05, 2012
-15818-530x330.jpg "Richard Branson")
After a busy trip to New York we headed to another place I know and love, Vancouver. We had a lot of fun launching Virgin Mobile Canada's Phones for Change campaign, which gives at-risk and homeless youth access to Virgin Mobile phones and plans.
It also provides education on how to manage money and escape the cycle of debt. This can in turn lead to long-term employment - not to mention regular contact with friends and family. Businesses should create a lasting, positive impact in the world – and this programme does just that.
One of life's great pleasures is visiting somewhere for the first time and the snow was falling to greet us as we arrived in Winnipeg. Spent time meeting some of our brilliant staff at Virgin Radio, raising money for good causes going on the air with Virgin Radio Winnipeg's Ace Burpee. The station has just launched, along with others here in Canada and they are doing a fantastic job championing good causes as well as spreading Virgin's love of music.
We also visited Resource Assistance for Youth (RaY), who we've partnered with for the Phones for Change program. So far over $300k in Winnipeg and almost $650k in less than 48 hours in Canada has been raised for Virgin Unite and RaY. The funds will help employ these young people for more than a year, as well as support Phones for Change. I had heard how wonderfully generous the people here were, and it has been proven in the past 24 hours.
Speaking of phones, Virgin Mobile Canada kindly gave me one a new iPhone 5. As you can see from the photo above, I'm still getting to grips with it! All the better to tweet with.
We're off to FreeFest with Virgin Mobile Live tomorrow. Look out for a live #askrichard session before the festival - start tweeting your questions in!
By Richard Branson. Founder of Virgin Group
