President Chain Store Corp, which operates the 7-Eleven convenience store chain in Taiwan, on Wednesday said that it had collected about NT$10.6 million [US$345,500] in donations, in a collaborative effort with World Vision Taiwan, to provide aid to earthquake-stricken Nepal.
The company said it has seen an outpouring of charity by Taiwanese since it began collecting donations via the iBon kiosks at its 7-Eleven stores on April 26.
In the first week, about NT$7.86 million was collected, with a record of NT$1.5 million in one day.
By Wednesday, the amount had reached NT$10.6 million.
President Chain Store Corp said the amount to date was 10 times more than had ever been collected in previous disaster relief campaigns, indicating that the Nepal earthquake had struck a nerve among Taiwanese.
Taipei residents have given the most donations, followed by New Taipei City and Taichung.
More than 10 percent of the donations were made late at night or in early hours of the morning.
The iBon kiosk donation drive will be extended until the end of this month, the company said.
World Vision Taiwan has collected a total of about NT$82.9 million in donations for aid to Nepal.
The charity said its goal is to donate NT$100 million over the long term for rehabilitation and reconstruction.
However, the priority right now is to provide supplies for victims of the quakes before the monsoon season begins.
Nepal on April 25 was hit by a magnitude 7.8 quake that killed more than 8,000 people and injured thousands.
On Tuesday last week, a magnitude 7.3 quake rocked the country, killing at least 96 and injured more than 2,300.
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