Canon Saudi Arabia (CSA), a provider of imaging technologies and services, has partnered with Packageha, a local company specialising in customised packaging design and production, for a Ramadan initiative whereby 500 toy boxes were printed and distributed to orphaned children during a special Iftar event titled the ‘7th Annual Iftar Ceremony.’
For the initiative, Packageha produced special boxes using the Canon Image press C750 printers with the heart-warming message “play with love” displayed on each of the boxes. The boxes included different toys and storybooks for the orphans that were provided by Red Sea Mall to feel included and loved as valuable members of society. The boxes were also packaged with the help of several Canon Saudi Arabia employees who volunteered to support the initiative.
The ‘7th Annual Iftar Ceremony’ was organised at the Red Sea Mall by Alla Mazagi group and hosted 500 orphans from different associations and included a series of entertainment activities for the children to enjoy, followed by an iftar and a two-hour movie screening.
Mai Youssef, Corporate Communications & Marketing Services Director, Canon Middle East and Central and North Africa, said: “This community initiative in the Kingdom truly reflects the spirit of Ramadan where everyone comes together to bring joy and happiness to those who are less privileged. At Canon we always driven by our philosophy of kyosei, which means living and working for the common good, and we believe that we can a positive difference in the community through these initiatives. We recently established our direct presence in the Kingdom and this is our first corporate social responsibility initiative. One of our goals is to continue growing our local CSR platform whereby we can support the community and address societal or environmental issues.”
A Saudi Arabian start-up, Packageha, produces different types of paper pack packages for small businesses and start-ups that require less quantities and more affordable pricing structures. Through Packageha, upcoming businesses can have access to contemporary, high-quality packaging that reflects their brand and speaks to their customers with the aim of increasing their sales and growing their business. By using a digital Canon imaging press, which was purchased based on a special pricing deal with Canon Saudi Arabia to support the start-up, Packegha can completely manage its entire printing flow in-house to control quality, volumes and keep pricing low.
Doaa bin Thabit, Founder of Packageha said: "As part of this initiative, Packageha made dedicated packages titled "play with love" to repackage toys and gifted them to less fortunate children. We were hoping that by unboxing these surprise gift boxes with toys will bring joy and happiness to the children and implant a great sense of love in their small hearts and show them how valued they are."
Over the last several years, Canon has also undertaken a series of initiatives that promote and support children across the region, and the organisation will continue building on these programmes. Last year Canon held a fundraising event, the Canon Day of Giving, to support two educational programmes in the region with the aim of helping shape future citizens by providing children with access to primary education. More recently in the Kingdom, Canon partnered with Nafham, a free online crowdsourced educational platform, to create an innovative photography and film making online course, ‘Hekayet Sora,’ for youth.
