Mixing Business With Pleasure – All For A Good Cause

Written by Ng Chin Hooi

The annual Newstart Charity Bazaar event was the brainchild of Adventist Community Services. Helmed by the main organizers Feruni Ceramiche Sdn Bhd and Adventist Lay Services and Industry (ASI), it was officially launched in 2008 with the noble objective of raising precious funds for the disabled and the underprivileged.

This year’s Newstart Charity Bazaar was held on 16th October, 2011, at the Petaling Jaya Taman Bandar SS2 open field adjoining the SS2 food court which used to be the famous SS2 ‘Glutton Street’. The objective of the 2011 bazaar was to raise RM 1 million for its beneficiaries: Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled, Multi-Mutual Charity Association and Hospis Malaysia. Teamwork

KDU University College School of Business and Law (KDUUC-SBL) was proud to support the event by taking up 20 stalls and providing the student power to help raise funds. Its faculty members led by Ms. Loo Bee Ling and assisted by Mr. Ng Chin Hooi, Mr. Gerard Chong Soon Lee and Ms.Karen Lee Mei-Wei were responsible for overseeing the business students in the preparation and the manning of the games stalls. A total of 150 students participated! They were separated into teams and each team was put in charge of individual stalls. Each stall had its own unique game concept to entice the fun-loving, charitable-at-heart crowd.

Despite the crush of almost 8,000 people at the bazaar on the day of the event, the students showcased their management skills by manning their stalls efficiently and attending to the customers in a professional manner. Although the event began only at 9 am, many of the students were already at the venue as early as 7am to set up their stalls. All teams were busy testing out their respective games, decorating their stalls and making last minute adjustments. With RM7000 collected from the games at the end of the day, the students had proven themselves to be good businessmen and women as well!

By participating in this bazaar, KDUUC-SBL hopes to cultivate a sense of social responsibility amongst the students towards the community, especially to those in need. The activity also put teamwork and leadership skills to practice – real world learning beyond the four walls of the classroom.

The faculty members cum advisors would like to extend their appreciation to all the students who had participated in the activity and they hope the experience would inspire them to use their skills for the betterment of society.