As part of ongoing efforts to make it easy to donate to those in need, Qatar Charity (QC) has launched an initiative that allows residents to rent portable mobile phone and iPad chargers at several public hotspots around town.
The chargers will soon be available in all malls, banks, hotels, restaurants and hospitals in Qatar, and can be rented for QR10 ($2.74) each.
تعرف لمبادرة #شاحن_الخير
شاحن الخير المتنقل تجده في نقاط التحصيل المنتشرة في جميع المراكز التجارية، مقابل ١٠ ريال pic.twitter.com/mxoYNkVrWe— Qatar Charity | قطر الخيرية (@qcharity) July 8, 2015
Those using the service must also put down an additional QR50 ($13.70) deposit that will be given back to the donor once the charger is returned.
The concept is part of the “Charity Charger” initiative launched by QC yesterday.
In a statement, Abdulla Al-Dossari, the charity’s executive director for collecting donations, said that the campaign is being conducted in two phases.
During the first phase, which started yesterday, chargers will be available at around 95 percent of malls in Qatar, including City Center, Villaggio, Landmark, Hyatt Plaza, Lagoona and others, in addition to some bank branches.
The second stage will begin by the end of this month after Eid, and includes rolling out the service to hotels, restaurants, hospitals and clinics.
The idea is to provide people with a public service to help them easily charge their phones while they’re busy shopping or on the go, and at the same time encourage them to donate to local charity efforts, QC said in its statement.
Local focus
The stations will be set up alongside the charity’s various donation collection booths across the country.
QC currently has 61 booths in Qatar, but expects to increase that number by the end of this month, when the second phase begins.
The chargers are of high quality and can accommodate all the major smart phone brands, QC said.
Proceeds will go toward supporting local charity efforts inside Qatar, including providing the less fortunate with food and other essentials.
Many of Qatar’s charities have expanded their local efforts and renewed initiatives to help the less fortunate during the holy month of Ramadan, when altruism typically increases.
Thoughts?
mmm… not convinced there’s a huge demand, but let’s see. hope the market research has been done
This may do well in airports for transit passengers. I’m not sure how many wall sockets are in the new airport but I’ve been to several abroad that have limited sockets.
This is not a bad idea at all if people know about it. Let’s say you’re going to dinner or to see a movie when you notice that you forgot to charge your phone:
1- rent portable charger and take it in with you where you will be mostly seated
2- return it when you’re done
3- voila! charged phone and a little contribution to charity as a bonus
My only criticism is that the deposit might be a bit low. A high quality portable charger is hard to get for less than 50 riyals. Hopefully the charity angle will dissuade people from simply nicking them. Pre-authorizing a credit/debit card for something like 100 riyals might be more convenient for everybody involved.
All in all, it’s pretty nifty. I wonder what other kind of little conveniences can be done on a similar model to increase charity revenue.
It’s supposed to be free, like any other countries.