Sunday Star, May 14, 2006
SOME 40 children from Assunta Children’s Society and Agathian Shelter in Petaling Jaya had a boisterous time at the Express, Impress and Shine event –a fun-filled activity organised by 15 final semester advertising students of Institute Advertising Communication Training (IACT) in Damansara Utama,Petaling Jaya.
The students handled all aspects of the event from raising funds to sourcing the sound system. The event was held at the Assunta Secondary School and Nestle goodie bags were given to the children.
The children, aged between four and 13 years, had been eagerly looking forward to the event as they knew they were not only going to have a lot of fun but also an opportunity to showcase their dancing and acting talent in a friendly competition. Three teams took part in the competition.
The highlight was the presence of actress and model Carmen Soo, actor Tony Eusoff, singer Cat from RuffEdge.They joined the children in the games and were judges for the talent performance.
Project co-ordinator Carin Ooi, 21, said: “The event was an opportunity for the children from the two welfare homes to express talent in games, dancing and acting.
“The event was also aimed to encourage healthy competition among the children, show them how to build up team spirit and boost their self-confidence. We believe these valuable strengths will help them greatly in their personal development.”
Deputy project co-ordinator Amanda Fonseka, 21, said: “We represent youths of our generation and for this course project, we chose to connect ourselves with underprivileged children because we believe that as caring young adults, it is our social responsibility to share our time and other resources with the less fortunate.”
Sharina Faisal said: “Although staging the event was a challenging task, it was at the same time enjoyable and interesting as we had to do everything ourselves.
“We divided the tasks and raised funds through washing cars, a food sale at the college and donations. We feel this valuable experience has made each of us stronger.”
IACT programme manager Vicky Ho commented: “We are delighted that the students, who will be graduating with a diploma in Advertising and Communication in June, decided to organise this event for underprivileged children.
“I believe the event lived up to the children‘s expectations as the students had put in a lot of effort to ensure its success. The students’ choice of a community project for underprivileged children is a good reflection of their caring nature.
At IACT, we encourage our students to play their role as caring citizens in tandem with developing their intellectual capability.”
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