DUBAI — Over AED40,000 has been donated to Salma Aid — a Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid initiative — following the successful #Drive4aCause campaign that encouraged members of the public to donate their unwanted electronic goods for a worthy cause during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

Devised by Melltoo, the online marketplace that sells used and unwanted items, and in collaboration with Volkswagen Middle East, the #Drive4aCause initiative took place during Ramadan, and due to the positive response was continued throughout the rest of June. The campaign called upon members of the public to generously donate their unwanted electronics to raise money for Salma Aid, the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid initiative that provides food relief for refugees and humanitarian crises globally.

The campaign reached 12 communities at nine different locations across Dubai, and over 30 student volunteers stopped off at each location in a green Volkswagen Tiguan to collect over 400 donated items including laptops, tablets, game consoles, cameras and other electronic accessories.

Melltoo helps customers in the UAE sell their used items without the hassle of meeting strangers. Donated items were listed on the platform, and Melltoo found buyers, picked up and delivered the items and collected the funds. Fifty percent of sale proceeds were donated to Salma Aid, alongside Volkswagen Middle East donating an additional 50% of the total costs raised, meeting the AED40,000 target.

Morrad Irsane, CEO of Melltoo, commented on the huge success: “It truly inspires me to see the community of Dubai coming together to help those in need. By donating our used and unwanted electronics, we were able to simultaneously reduce our environmental footprint while providing much needed food relief to refugees such as the Rohingyas in Bangladesh and the Syrians in Jordan. I look forward to continuing and growing this initiative in the near future!”

Thanks to the #Drive4aCause initiative, Melltoo and Volkswagen Middle East were able to provide 50% of the total proceeds raised to buy over 4,000 meals for the refugees at Salma Aid. — SG