Since April 11, 1,249 wildfires have burned across the province leading to a state of emergency where many people were evacuated from their homes and more than one-million hectares of land was burned.

Last month, we partnered with NEXTEXT and Ivrnet by providing donation opportunities for anyone who texted BCFIRES to 30333. When customers texted their stop ID number to get the next bus departure times, they often saw the following message:

The text messages let riders who were interested to simply click on the links provided and either donate immediately or learn more about the Red Cross’s work.

From July 21 to August 21, the link in the text messages received almost 2,500,000 hits and more than $2,100 was raised directly through the dedicated code (30333). These messages appeared in unsold advertising space — valued at $360,000 — and were made possible through our partnership with NEXTEXT and Ivrnet.

We are pleased to support the Red Cross’s relief fundraising efforts and would like to say thank you to all of our customers who made a donation!

How can I still help?

Unfortunately, wildfires continue to burn across the province. If you’d like to make a donation to Red Cross wildfire relief, visit their donation page and select “British Columbia Fires Appeal.”

Author: Christina Jakopin