Amex puts $100,000 savings into stocking
American Express is putting its might behind Operation Santa Claus for the third year in a row with a $100,000 donation.
Saving trees as well as contributing to this year's worthy cause is the strategy for Vijay Parekh, the regional president for Asia, the Pacific and Australia.
The idea of not sending Christmas cards and donating the saved money to charity originally came from staff, Mr Parekh said, and everyone was united in picking Operation Santa Claus as the beneficiary.
'In this new world of e-mails, answering machines and telephones, maybe something like the Christmas card is not the right format for greetings anymore,' he said.
'And if by stopping sending them we can save significant amounts of money and give it to charity, I think we should do that.' The Operation Santa appeal again captured the imagination of American Express staff with its campaign to help children.
'It meets our desire to be part of the community,' he said.
