Red Cross Fair being held online again this year due to Covid-19

For the second year in a row, the national Red Cross Fair is being held online only due to concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic. The fair takes place every year all over Thailand as a fundraiser to support the Red Cross and their programs, especially those to help the poor and people in need.

The Red Cross often steps in to deliver emergency supplies, food rations, and relief kits around Thailand when emergencies, natural disasters, or viral pandemics in this year’s case, leave people stuck and in desperate need. Over one year from October of last year to September of this year, the organisation provided aid to people directly affected by heavy storms and flooding, delivering more than 20,000 relief kits and water to drink for stranded people in need.

Local Red Cross teams helped poor people living at the edges of Phuket Town and Rassada who lost all their income because of the Covid-19 pandemic, handing out food supplies in the area. The fair has traditionally been a huge event in Phuket, held for 11 days prior to New Year’s Eve at Saphan Hin with fundraising contests that had lavish prizes like motorbikes and cars, and even an entire house.

This year though, instead of thousands of people turning out in person for the Red Cross Fair in Phuket, Bangkok, Pattaya, and Chiang Mai as in the past, the entire event is being held exclusively online. The website RedCrossFair.com was officially launched yesterday by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Deputy Executive of the Thai Red Cross Society.

The Red Cross site has a virtual city where users can create an avatar and wander around, with different buildings leading to information, movies, music, games, challenges, as well as an online shopping portal with over 200 vendors selling. 3,000 restaurants are participating as well where online users can order food. Members of the Royal Thai Family have initiated and supported community artisan projects as well.

More than 500,000 people have already visited the site to participate in the online fair. Red Cross will run the website 24 hours a day and the fair will continue each day until December 27.

SOURCE: The Phuket News