Let's spread the word about Hunger Day — boldly, across every channel!
On Hunger Day, we want to reach as wide an audience as possible. That is why it is essential for the campaign to be visible in local media, on social media, and in public spaces across the country.
One of the greatest strengths of the Hunger Day collection campaign is its positive spirit of people coming together and making a difference. Let’s share that message with everyone!
Hunger Day communications have three objectives:
- Encourage people to participate as volunteer collectors and donors
- Explain how the donated funds are used and why support is needed
- Report on the results of the campaign and thank everyone who took part
For local branches, it is especially important to focus communications on inspiring people to become collectors and donors.
To support your communications efforts, we have prepared a set of guidelines and resources. Explore them below.
Preparedness for disasters and emergencies is at the heart of the Red Cross mission, both in Finland and around the world. By strengthening communities’ ability to prepare for crises, we help reduce human suffering when emergencies occur. You can support this work by taking part in Hunger Day. The Hunger Day box collection takes place across Finland from 24 to 26 September 2026.
During Hunger Day, donations are collected for the Finnish Red Cross Disaster Relief fund. The funds are not committed for any specific purpose in advance, enabling us to provide rapid assistance wherever the need is greatest.
Red Cross volunteers are permanently present in almost every country in the world. Local volunteers and staff are often the first to respond when disaster strikes. By participating in Hunger Day, you help ensure that this vital assistance remains available in the future.
The need for aid may arise from a conflict, an epidemic, or a sudden natural disaster. In times of crisis, people’s basic needs are always the same: first and foremost, they need clean water, food, shelter, and psychosocial support.
In Finland, volunteers are there in times of crisis
In Finland, our volunteers provide assistance in emergencies, often working alongside and in support of the authorities. Sudden emergencies and disruptions can include fires, floods, epidemics, and major accidents.
Funds from the Disaster Relief Fund make it possible to train volunteers and maintain emergency preparedness in Finland, ensuring that different types of crises can be responded to effectively. Local volunteers strengthen the resilience and overall security of society.
In times of crisis, people often need emotional support as well. This can mean providing a calm presence, listening, offering realistic hope, and helping people connect with their loved ones. Volunteer support enables the authorities to focus on tasks that require professional expertise and on managing the overall situation. Volunteers play an important role in providing compassionate, person-centred support when people are in distress.
During Hunger Day, we raise funds for the Disaster Relief Fund. These donations are not committed to any specific purpose in advance. We use stories and examples from both Finland and around the world to show how these funds make a difference.
Please note: During Hunger Day, we do not focus on the crisis in Ukraine, as our assistance related to the Ukraine crisis is funded through a separate Ukraine collection.
Questions and answers:
Do Hunger Day donations reach those in need?
Funds raised during Hunger Day are donated to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. The fundraising expenses of the Disaster Relief Fund may not exceed 20% of the funds raised. At least 80% of all donations are used for humanitarian assistance.
The level of fundraising expenses is overseen by the Finnish Red Cross board and council. These expenses include costs associated with raising donations, such as fundraising staff costs, the printing and mailing of donation appeals, the procurement of collection materials, marketing expenses, and fees charged by external service providers such as telecom operators and banks.
The use of donated funds is governed by the rules and oversight mechanisms of the Disaster Relief fund.
Are funds raised during Hunger Day used for the Ukraine crisis?
Answer: Hunger Day donations are directed to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund, whose resources are not committed for any specific country or cause in advance. Because these funds are unrestricted, we can respond rapidly to emergencies almost anywhere in the world. The Disaster Relief fund also enabled us to launch humanitarian assistance quickly when the crisis in Ukraine began.
How can I direct my donation to Ukraine?
Answer: You can make a designated donation through the following channels:
- Donate via our website
- Send a text message SPR25 to 16499 (25 €)
- Donate via MobilePay to 11646
- Make a bank transfer to account OP FI52 5000 0120 4156 73. Recipient: Punainen Risti. Reference number: 6020.
Creating an event announcement in Oma
Every branch must create an event announcement in Oma for its Hunger Day collection by 16 August 2026. As a rule, branches create the event themselves, but support is available from the district if needed.
Instructions for creating an event can be found here (in Finnish).
Text templates for the event announcement
You can use the text templates below or write your own. Remember to include the word Hunger Day and the municipality where the collection takes place in the title, and preferably also the district or neighbourhood, so that the event can be found through the search function. Provide clear instructions on how to become a collector, as well as the contact details of the collection coordinator so that potential volunteers can contact them directly.
Template 1, if the branch has a collection point for distributing collection boxes
Title: Hunger Day collection in Kirkkonummi
Would you like to help people affected by disasters in Finland and around the world? Join Hunger Day as a volunteer collector!
No previous experience is required, and you can collect for exactly as long as you like. We will provide you with a collection vest, a collection box, and all the guidance you need.
Register through this event or come directly to the collection point without prior registration.
Address:
Opening hours:
When you come to collect, please bring a photo ID. And feel free to bring a friend along!
Thank you for caring!
Contact person for the Kirkkonummi Hunger Day collection:
Name:
Phone number:
Email:
Template 2, if the branch does not have a collection point for distributing collection boxes
Title: Hunger Day collection in Kirkkonummi
Would you like to help people affected by disasters in Finland and around the world? Join Hunger Day as a volunteer collector!
No previous experience is required, and you can collect for exactly as long as you like. We will provide you with a collection vest, a collection box, and all the guidance you need.
Register through this event or contact the Hunger Day collection coordinator directly.
Thank you for caring!
Contact person for the Kirkkonummi Hunger Day collection:
Name:
Phone number:
Email:
Local relevance appeals to the media
An email or a phone call is a quick and effective way to contact local newsrooms, tell them about Hunger Day and invite journalists to cover a story. The aim is to get a total of three Hunger Day-related news stories into the local media:
- Call for volunteers (a couple of weeks before the collection)
- The collection begins (during Hunger Day week)
- The collection result (after the collection week)
Ready-made press release templates are available to support your communication efforts. The 2026 Hunger Day press release templates for Finnish- and Swedish-language media outlets can be found in the material bank in August. Separate templates have been designed for each of the three communication phases.
Social media helps to spread the word about Hunger Day
Share the atmosphere of Hunger Day on your own and your branch's social media channels.
It is worth promoting Nälkäpäivä in as many local channels as possible, including local Facebook groups and other community platforms.
Share the positive atmosphere. Nälkäpäivä can be a fun and inspiring experience!
Ready-made images for social media in the material bank
The material bank contains images that can be used in social media posts, for example during the collector recruitment phase and the collection phase. You will also find Hunger Day cover images for different social media channels there.
Share, comment and like
Liking, sharing and commenting on Red Cross social media posts is highly encouraged, as it helps increase their visibility across the country.
By following the Finnish Red Cross national social media channels, you can find content ideas and posts that you can easily share:
The official Nälkäpäivä hashtags are #Nälkäpäivä and #Hungerdagen.
Translation feedback
Your feedback helps us improve AI-translated pages.
Page
🔗 —0 / 500 characters
Something went wrong — please try again.
Thank you for your feedback!
We'll use it to review and improve this translation.