Increased charity in Sweden

Swedes, not generally inclined to private charity to the extent we are in the U.S., were more generous than usual this last Christmas. 

• 

  Swedes were more generous this past Christmas than before when it came to contributing to charity organizations.

• Contributions to charity increased last year at Christmas time, both from private persons as well as companies.

• “We have seen how willing people are to give,” says Bert Åberg, Information Director at Frälsningsarmén (the Swedish Salvation Army). And Dagens Nyheter’s own poll (they called different charity organizations) shows that contributions were more in number and larger this past Christmas than before.

• “Årets julklapp = compassion” was the name of Frälsningsarméns Christmas campaign and people seemed to have taken the cue. “Over 12.1 million SEK ($1.7 million) was put into our account last Christmas,” Åberg says. “That’s 1.18 million SEK ($170 000) more than last year. And we haven’t even begun counting our Christmas kettles, found in 80 places around Sweden.”
  Rädda Barnen (Save the Children), Unicef, and Röda Korset (The Red Cross) are other organizations, which testify to increasing sums during Christmas 2011.

• For more info (in Swedish) on the Swedish Salvation Army, see Frälsningsarmén