The Marriott team led by Marriott’s public relations manager Lian Pasan (fifth left) with the Miri Hospital children’s ward staff.
Hinderer (fourth left) gives away a mock cheque to Dr Philip Raja (third left), flanked by Dr Roland Matu of CAH-M ((second left) on behalf of Clapam.
Children at MRCS Sunflower Centre with the Marriott team led by Hinderer (back row, seventh left).
MIRI: The festive wishes of 442 special children and orphans here for handicap aid, new apparels, educational books, toys, school supplies and other gifts were fulfilled through the Christmas Wish Tree Project.
Miri Marriott Resort & Spa, led by its general manager Marcel Hinderer, made visits to the children centres and distributed the gifts worth over RM10,000 and RM500 in cash donation to the daycare centres and orphanage.
Hinderer said the distribution of the gifts was done recently over two days with visits to three centres per day to enable the Marriott team to spend some quality time with the children.
The beneficiaries for this year’s campaign were MRCS Sunflower Centre, Community-based Rehabilitation Centre (PDK), the National Autism Society of Malaysia (Nasom), Miri Hospital children’s wards, Persatuan Penyayang Kanak-Kanak Istimewa Miri (PPKKIM) and Cleft Lip and Palate Association of Malaysia (Clapam).
Clapam was the biggest single recipient with RM12,254 for their joint charity project with Columbia Asia Hospital-Miri (CAH-M) and Pantai Hospital in Kuala Lumpur – the co-organisers for the corrective treatment for cleft lips or palates.
The gifts were donated by generous resort guests and members of the public during the ‘Christmas Wish Tree’ and ‘Face the World with a Smile’ charity campaigns organised by the hotel during the festive season from Nov 26 last year to Jan 4 this year.
“We wish to say a big thank you and with our utmost gratitude to all the donors for their generosity,” Hinderer said yesterday.
He said the campaigns attracted an overwhelming response from locals and foreign holiday goers.
This year, more children wished for larger items such as wheelchairs, baby walkers and mini-bicycles of which all were fulfilled.
Publicity on the campaign picked up very well through the press, Hitz FM, social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, blogs and also word of mouth.
The ‘Christmas Wish Tree Project’ is an annual campaign following the success of the inaugural project in 2006 to cheer special children, orphans and the project runs concurrently with the ‘Face the World with a Smile’ campaign to enable children with cleft lips and palate to undergo corrective surgeries.
Marriott team with children and teachers of PDK.
Marriott PR assistant and Christmas Wish Tree Project coordinator Chu Sze Chee giving away a stationery set to an autistic child.