The Chaîne du Bonheur raised more than 10 million francs

More than 10 million francs were raised on Thursday as part of the Solidarity Day of the Chaîne du Bonheur. The goal is to collect donations to help people who are in need of the coronavirus.

The President of the Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga launched Thursday the Solidarity Day of the Happiness Chain. In an interview with RTS, she expressed her gratitude to the foundation and its partners for organizing this fundraiser, says Chaîne du Bonheur.

“We need solidarity and support. We also need means and organizations that can really help people affected by this situation,” said the federal councilor.

The solidarity day as part of the “coronavirus” collection was launched Thursday morning at 07:00 in the four linguistic regions of the country and continued until 22:30. Since March 23, more than 27.7 million francs have already been raised. The SSR and some private radio stations support the collection.

Over 6 million aid

Switzerland has so far allocated more than 6 million francs for immediate aid, intermediate aid and food aid. This support is provided on the one hand by the two traditional partners of the Chaîne du Bonheur, namely Caritas Switzerland and the Swiss Red Cross.

In addition, six other organizations (the Salvation Army, Pro Infirmis, Pro Senectute, the Swiss Workers’ Mutual Aid, Winter Relief and the CAD) were able to intensify their support for people in difficulty. In a second phase, around thirty organizations, notably distributing foodstuffs, received financial support.

An additional call for projects was launched Thursday to support those who find themselves without income due to the pandemic. These people – for example domestic workers – sometimes have an informal activity or status and do not have access to social insurance or public aid, and are already living in precarious conditions. Without help, they could end up on the street.