The foundation has agreed to cough up an equal amount for every donation Telmex customers pledge by dialing *6565 from their respective residential land lines during the month of March. The automatic system allows the caller to select a precise amount ranging from 50 to 500 pesos per call, up to a cumulative total of 2,000 pesos.
As explained on the Telmex website, the caller dialing the special Colecta line will be asked to press 1 to make a 500-peso donation, 2 for $300, 3 for $150, 4 for $100 and 5 for $50. Repeat calls are required to boost the total. The full amount will charged to the client’s next phone bill, free of IVA (valued added tax). It is noted that phone lines that are blocked for 900 numbers are not eligible.
Ledesma says that the individual donation plus the foundation’s share will be channeled to the Red Cross organization located within the same area code where the call was generated. Cruz Roja Chapala will therefore benefit from pledges made from all home phones assigned numbers beginning with area codes 376 and 387.