Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur’s annual charity project Embrace the Gift of Life was initiated in 1985 to support children with severe heart ailments and other serious medical conditions. To date, the hotel has raised over RM4 million and support hundreds of critically ill children through this charity project.
Once again, the hotel’s Tree of Life Christmas Tree was inspired by Shangri-La’s theme – A North Pole Wonderland. The six variations of Hot Air Balloon ornaments, decked on the 14 feet Christmas Tree, were made with bright colours such as red, orange, baby blue, green, pink, and ocean blue, symbolising the giver “bringing” hope and a second chance at life to children with serious ailments. This year’s campaign was launched on 21st November.
Led by Pastry Artist, Wayne Siow, the team worked together to design and hand make the ornaments. The team of nine pastry chefs spent three weeks perfecting the designs and dedicated an average ten hours each day to ensure the ornaments were hand made to the highest standards.
Organisations and individuals are welcomed to support this annual fund-raising charity by sponsoring any of the six ornaments with a minimum donation of RM1,000 each or select any of the five limited edition designs at a minimum donation of RM3,000 each.
This year, “Embrace the Gift of Life” funds five children: Five years old Mia Syamila Binti Che Aziz is diagnosed with Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Drainage (TAPVD) where the blood flow returning from the lungs are draining abnormally and is currently awaiting to undergo surgery with an estimated cost of RM70,000. Her father works as a contractor with a monthly income of RM800 and her mother is a housewife.
One year old Leong Sum Ee is diagnosed with Congenital Heart Disease where there is a hole in her heart and the vessels to the lungs are blocked. She will need to undergo Cardiac Cath and Corrective surgery with an estimated cost of RM70,000. Her father works as a hairdresser and her mother is a housewife.
Six years old Nurulain Binti Shahrin was born with Congenital Heart Disease alongside Situs Inversus, Dextrocardia, CCTGA, Pulmonary Valve Stenosis, ASD and VSD. The Fontan operation will be her third surgery after undergoing a BT Shunt surgery and Glenn Shunt surgery back in 2014 and 2016 respectively. This time around, the estimated cost for this surgery is RM80,000.
4 months old Muhammad Ahnaf Dayyan Bin Muhamad Azihan is diagnosed with Ventricular Septal Defect and is to undergo a VSD closure surgery at an estimated cost of RM50,000. His father works at a palm oil factory earning RM1,664.75 monthly and his mother is a housewife.
6 months old Muhammad Faris Habibullah was born with Coarctation of the aorta, a birth defect in which a part of the aorta is narrower than usual and Ventricular Septal Defect, where the is a hole in his heart. He will undergo surgery for VSD closure and PA debanding at an estimated cost of RM80,000. His father works as a van driver earning RM1,500 monthly and his mother is a housewife.
Donations can be made via the forms available at the Front Office desk or online at www.shangri-la-specials.com and the donor’s name or company logo will be displayed below each set of ornaments. Proceeds will be collected for the children who are in urgent need of immediate surgery and medical care.
In line with Shangri-La’s long term sustainability effort, 25 of our hotel associates from various departments spent 12 days designing and hand make 2,260 Christmas Tree ornaments using recycled materials. A total of 18 Christmas trees – 10 small trees for outlets and 8 big trees for the public area – were decorated with gold star (700 pieces), baubles (450 pieces), toilet roll (700 pieces), snowman (80 pieces) and Christmas tree (330 pieces) ornaments, saving up to RM7,2000 of decoration funds. These Christmas decorations will be displayed throughout the Hotel until 31st December 2020.
Shangri-La Group is committed to operating in an economically, socially and environmentally responsible manner while balancing the interests of diverse stakeholders. The Group strives to be a leader in corporate citizenship and sustainable development. Its CSR and sustainability initiatives focus on five key areas, namely community engagement, environment and biodiversity, employee development, sustainable supply chain, and health and safety.
The two flagship CSR programmes – Embrace and Sanctuary – are aimed at promoting education and the environment. Embrace is Shangri-La’s Care for People project and looks at ways of providing the highest level of education and health support needed in under-privileged communities. Sanctuary is Shangri-La’s Care for Nature project and promotes the conservation and restoration of biodiversity in destinations where the group maintains operations.
For more information, please visit the Group’s website: shangri-la.com/group/our-story/community-and-social-impact
The CSR blog can be found here: shangri-la-sustainability.com.
