The Reach Campaign partners with charity stars to offer once-in-a-lifetime experiences to people who donate to campaign

·       The campaign aims to protect five million people from river blindness and lymphatic filariasis and has seen the campaign partner with a host of leading organisations to raise awareness and funding.

·       The range of once-in-a-lifetime experiences include joining world-famous Hollywood actress, Scarlett Johansson, at the Sing 2 world premiere.

Abu Dhabi: Through The Reach Campaign’s partnership with CharityStars, a groundbreaking fundraising platform, people are being given the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

As part of Reach’s ‘50 Days to Transform 5 Million Lives’ campaign to end neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), namely, river blindness and lymphatic filariasis, people donating via the CharityStars website can place a bid in the online auction or enter-to-win a selection of incredible, money-can’t-buy experiences being given to lucky winners over a 50 day period. The list of amazing prizes includes:

·       Meet, greet, and have a personal photo with Scarlett Johansson at the Sing 2 world premiere on 12 December at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.

·       A game Junior Cityzen’s Match-day experience with Premier League reigning champions, Manchester City FC, that includes welcoming the Manchester City squad at the Etihad Stadium on the Blue carpet, a picture taken with the match-ball, a signed official jersey by your favourite Man City Player, and watch the players pitch-side warm-up before the game while also receiving a 2021/2022 home kit, two match day tickets and much more.

·       Unique Yasalam VIP Concert Series Package for 10 people with private box access, providing VIP views to Abu Dhabi Grand Prix After-Race Concerts including six-time Grammy nominee, Khalid, Brit New Artist of the Year, Lewis Capaldi, 12-time Grammy Award winning rock band, Foo Fighters and award-winning British Rapper, Stormzy.

·       A VIP experience at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, with two tickets to a VIP reception, VIP seating for the matches and a tennis clinic with with one or more of the participating world class players including Grand Slam Champion Rafael Nadal, U.S. Open sensation Emma Raducanu, Olympic Champion Belinda Bencic, 2020 US Open Champion Dominic Thiem, Denis Chapovalov and Casper Ruud.

·       A 1.5 hour Ferrari 458 Driving Challenge Experience, including professional driving technical instruction and briefing, driving six laps, in-car video recording and much more, all presented by Dubai Autodrome.

All proceeds from donations given online to CharityStars, as part of the 50-day campaign, will benefit the Reaching the Last Mile Fund (RLMF), which offers a proof of concept for the elimination of the two diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa. Hosted by the END Fund – the leading philanthropic vehicle dedicated to ending NTDs – RLMF is a 10-year, $100 million USD initiative launched in 2017 by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, with support from several organisations including The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The ELMA Philanthropies.

RLMF delivers preventative treatment for NTDs and focuses on ways to accelerate progress towards elimination – from investing in disease mapping efforts, to supporting advanced lab facilities and cross-border collaborations.

Reach’s 50-day campaign was launched on 14 October and marks the lead up to the UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations. The campaign ultimately aims to help protect at least five million people from river blindness and lymphatic filariasis.   

Tala Al Ramahi, Acting Managing Director for The Reach Campaign, said: “We are delighted to announce this wish list of incredible opportunities being offered to lucky winners in the CharityStars Sweepstake. We have been overwhelmed with the response to our ‘50 Days to Transform 5 Million Lives’ campaign; the range of organisations enlisting their services to support this worthy cause is truly humbling. To rid the world of NTDs requires an extraordinary response, and I am grateful to CharityStars and all of our participating partners for their generosity and efforts to raise awareness of these serious conditions. Together with all our partners, we are working hard to eliminate these easily preventable diseases and I would urge everyone to visit the CharityStars website and donate what they can to help us end unnecessary suffering and help those less fortunate than ourselves.”

River blindness, also known by its technical name, ‘onchocerciasis’, is a parasitic disease that infects the eyes and skin of human beings. It is the second leading cause of preventable blindness. Lymphatic filariasis is an NTD that damages the human lymph system and causes limbs to swell. Over 200 million people worldwide are in need of treatment for river blindness while 859 million people in 50 countries remain at risk of lymphatic filariasis the majority of the burden being in Africa. NTDs affect more than 1.5 billion of the world’s most impoverished people and cost developing economies billions of dollars every year.

The UAE’s strategy for disease elimination is to help keep preventable diseases at the top of the political agenda, maintain progress made so far, raise funding levels, and work closely with global partners and multilateral initiatives to increase impact.

Just AED 2 can provide the medicine and treatment to protect one person from river blindness and lymphatic filariasis, and several other co-endemic diseases for the entire year.

The public can visit the CharityStars website to place a bid or enter to win a range of top prizes at [www.charitystars.com/reach], or donate by texting the word GIVE to 2424, or directly through Reach’s website: www.reachtheend.org. 

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About The Reach Campaign

The Reach Campaign is an initiative to end river blindness and lymphatic filariasis. Over 200 million people worldwide require treatment for river blindness while 850 million people are at risk of lymphatic filariasis. Like many neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), river blindness and lymphatic filariasis disproportionately affect the world’s most vulnerable people, trapping their families in cycles of poverty. Proceeds from the campaign will go to the Reaching the Last Mile Fund (RLMF). Hosted by the END Fund, RLMF delivers prevention and treatment across 7 countries in Africa and the Middle East. Together we can help end river blindness and lymphatic filariasis and ensure a brighter future for millions.

The Reach Campaign is supported by Strategic Partners – Emirates Red Crescent and Dubai Cares; Founding Partners – ADNOC, Etihad Airways, Lulu Group International and National Health Insurance Company - Daman; Marketing Partners – ADCB and Rivoli Group; Media Partner – Arabian Radio Network; and Supporting Partners – Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC), ADMM, Aldar, Crescent Group, Department of Transportation, Dubai Autodrome, Etihad Arena, Flash Entertainment, Globesight, L’Occitane, Miral, Noon, Troon and YallaGive.

© Press Release 2021