Disease Prevention Topping Eftpos $2M Poll
26 September 2013 at 10:56 am
The area of ‘disease prevention and medical research’ is currently leading the public online poll undertaken by electronic funds transfer system company, eftpos Australia in its campaign to to give $2 million to Australian charities.
With almost 22,000 Australians voting on the poll, some 37.8 per cent of the public voting has favoured ‘disease prevention, management and medical research’, putting it at the top of the voting list.
eftpos is calling on Australians to help choose which worthy causes should receive a share of up to $2 million that will be donated to charity in the eftpos Giveback program this Christmas.
The category under ‘disadvantaged kids, families and communities’ is running second in the poll at just 13.5 per cent followed by ‘sick kids and their families’ (12.8 per cent) and ‘people with disabilities’ at 10.08 per cent.
Many Not for Profits are using Twitter and Facebook to encourage its supporters to vote for them in the eftpos poll.
eftpos Managing Director Bruce Mansfield said with so many worthy causes and a record number of charity submissions for the 2013 eftpos Giveback program, the organisation was seeking input from the community about where the money could be put to best use this year.
"Disease prevention, management and medical research has been trending very strongly this week and is currently well ahead, but we are seeing some very strong campaigning from other sections such as Mental Health, depression and suicide prevention, and Disadvantaged Kids Families and Communities, that could start to turn this around quickly.
“The eftpos Giveback tradition is in its third year and we are looking to double the donation value up to $2 million,” Mansfield said. “It is important that the community has a say about which causes they support.”
In 2012 eftpos presented Vision Australia with a donation for $1 million following the completion of its Giveback campaign.
From today, Australians can vote for their favourite cause in an online poll that will close at 11.59pm on Saturday, October 12 and can be found at: eftposgiveback.com.au
Without a doubt 'disadvantaged kids, families and communities’ should be the most concerning topic in Australia today. We know that children are born compromised through events prior to their birth yet they continue to be punished for parental drinking, smoking, stress and transgenerational inheritance too. These little ones are denied equality from birth often ending up in child protection services, detention centres and jails because of their unidentifed neurodevelopmental status. Invariably as adults they replicate their own vulnerability into another generation of disadvantaged babies to tread the same perilous pathway. The strategy to prevent smoking has been acclaimed worldwide so why can't we do that with alcohol? Moderate alcohol use is fine as long as it does not coincide with reproductive years. Why are alcohol manufacturers allowed to flood the market without taking responsibility for their product? Does the alcohol industry not believe their goods are dangerous to the brains of unborn children? Alcohol is certainly more dangerous than thalidomide and has the capacity to cause harm in the womb over a longer period. Are there no decent citizens within their numbers prepared to take a leadership role in protecting the unborn from exposure to their products? Surely not.