Dubai, UAE, November 6th, 2010: In a demonstration of solidarity for an important cause, a number of du employees today successfully completed the Safe & Sound Pink Walkathon, an annual charitable event aimed at raising both awareness and funds for breast cancer. By participating in the event – which took place on Nov 5,in BurJuman Shopping Centre in Dubai – each employee contributed towards breast cancer research and helped promote awareness of this serious disease. In addition, many of du’s participants brought along their family and friends to further support the event.

“We are very proud of all our colleagues who completed the Walkathon and contributed to an extremely worthy cause. We actively encourage our team members to support charitable causes as we, both as individuals and as an organisation, have a responsibility to give back to the community. As breast cancer is identified as one of the leading forms of cancer here in the UAE, we were all the more motivated to personally support the cause. We sincerely hope that our contribution will help make a difference in fighting this devastating disease,” commented Hala Badri, EVP, Brand and Communications, du.

Women, men and children of all ages participated in the fun 3.6km walk, after which they enjoyed a host of entertaining events.  All funds raised through walk registration fees (AED 50 per adult and AED 30 per child) and donations go towards raising further awareness of breast cancer and improving patient care. Fund usage is monitored by the UAE Red Crescent Society.

It is also worth mentioning that in demonstration of its commitment to supporting worthy causes both in the UAE and across the world as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, du launched a series of initiatives supporting Breast Cancer Awareness under the umbrella of  du’s ‘Pink Ribbon Week’, which ran from 24 to 30 October 2010. du’s Pink Ribbon Week aimed primarily at promoting greater awareness of the disease, through various activities including a special SMS message sent out to all du customers. Moreover, du deployed all its digital communication channels -www.du.ae, the intranet, twitter and Facebook pages which carried the pink ribbon throughout the week. Furthermore, The company’s Director of Medical & Occupational Health Services, Dr. Mansoor and the communication team have put together a short awareness video that was streamed to all du staff members through du Intranet. Women in the company were also offered very special mammogram rates, in a step to encourage necessary regular checkups. The clip provided useful information, tips and advice about the prevention and early detection of breast cancer.

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