News

Milan, 16 September 2009 – Coca-Cola HBC Italy is continuing its support of the Abio Foundation (Italian Association for Children in Hospital) by taking part in the “A Gift Full of Christmas” campaign organised by the Imaginarium chain of stores which sells toys and children's products.

In the first two weeks of November, all children will be invited to donate a toy, enclosing it in a shoebox, to be decorated by the child, and then deliver it to any of the Imaginarium stores around Italy. The boxes will then be distributed by volunteers of the ABIO Foundation to children who are spending their Christmas holidays in paediatric wards.

Coca-Cola HBC Italy is a committed partner in the initiative and will decorate the windows of the Imaginarium stores with fun images inspired by its range of Amita fruit-juices, which will be handed out to children and their families for the entire duration of the campaign.

The company will promote the initiative, starting with an internal communications plan inviting its 3,300 staff members and their families to take part in this worthy charity campaign.

“With the 'A Gift Full of Christmas' campaign, Coca-Cola HBC Italy underlines its dedication to social issues,” explained Alessandro Magnoni, General Affairs Director at Coca-Cola HBC Italy, “our company is a profoundly human company whose ethos is one of mutual respect for all.
Over time, we have developed important partnerships to support the humanitarian projects of various charities: the AIBO Foundation, Archè, Daily Bread, and In-Oltre, among others.”

Coca-Cola HBC Italy’s commitment to the AIBO Foundation began in 2006 and has continued each year with diverse initiatives (such as the distribution of the book “What am I doing in hospital?” by over 4,500 volunteers in 2007, and the training for 20 AIBO workers in 2008) to
aid the work of all those who give their time and energy to alleviate the suffering of ill children and to make the hospital environment as child-friendly and serene as possible.

To discover full details about the campaign, please visit www.imaginarium.com, the AIBO Foundation site, www.aibo.org or the Coca-Cola HBC Italy site www.coca-colahellenic.it