ABOUT

In Lebanon there has been a growing skepticism that the money people were giving to the beggars on the streets wasn’t actually being used to fulfill their basic human needs. In some instances, for example, the money would end up in the pockets of people taking advantage of the beggars, used to buy weapons or drugs and alcohol. Lebanon’s citizens, in turn, became less giving, a trend that J. Walter Thompson Beirut and Bou Khalil Supermarkets wanted to change.

Together, they created the Good Note, a voucher that could be given to panhandlers in lieu of money.

Valued at 1000 Lebanese pounds, Good Notes can only be exchanged at Bou Khalil supermarkets and it’s affiliate pharmacy to redeem everyday necessities such as warm blankets, clean drinking water, feminine hygiene products, food, and even prescribed medicine.

More than 25 Million Lebanese pounds worth of Good Notes are now circulating Lebanon’s streets, with all profits helping to improve the lives of Lebanon’s beggars, many of whom are children.

Above all else, the Good Notes have encouraged the Lebanese to give again and have transformed the Bou Khalil supermarket chain into an agent for social change.