Just SMS and Donate
24 May 2004 at 1:05 pm
The SMS revolution is here for the donating!!!! Olympic swimmer Matt Welsh has joined with Telstra and iTouch to call on young people to put their love of mobile phones to a good cause and help The Salvation Army support the growing number of homeless youth.
The message to the SMS phone savvy is that all you have to do is download the Salvo’s Red Shield Appeal icon to your mobile phone and Telstra and iTouch will donate the download cost of $2.95 to help the youth on the streets.
Matt Welsh describes it as a simple and fun way to donate to a worthy cause and help other young people less fortunate.
Telstra Group Managing Director, Business and Government, David Thodey, says Telstra it’s a novel way for our customers to throw their support behind the Salvos and at the same time indulge in the rapidly growing trend of customising mobile phones by down-loading icons.
Salvation Army spokesman John Dalziel, says that with 26,000 homeless young people in Australia there was an enormous need for support. Every night, there are hundreds of young people sleeping on the streets because they have nowhere else to go.
He says this fundraising option gives young people an easy way to donate using the technology they know and understand.
For those of us still coming to terms with phone text messaging here’s how it works. Telstra mobile customers can download the black and white icon by sending an SMS with the word ‘SALVOS’ to a special phone number 176 or for a colour icon they send the words ‘SALVOS.LOGO’ to 176.
