The day was bright and sunny, a good omen as L’OCCITANE made its visit to the Malaysian
Association for the Blind (MAB)’s Kinta Valley Center in Ipoh, Perak. The visit was in conjunction with L’OCCITANE Malaysia’s signature fundraising campaign, where they have been working together with MAB to raise funds to improve the lives of the visually-impaired in Malaysia.
2014 marks the 5th year of L’OCCITANE Malaysia’s support towards MAB. Since 2009, L’OCCITANE has been working closely with MAB, staying true to the essence of the brand’s global charity foundation, L’OCCITANE Foundation, which is dedicated to fighting avoidable blindness in developing countries. More than 300 million people in the world are blind or visually-impaired, but in fact a staggering 80% of blindness is avoidable.
Over the previous years, L’OCCITANE Malaysia has successfully raised over RM166,258 on behalf of MAB. This year, the charity fundraising drive was held from November 2013 to February 2014, where members of the public could purchase the limited-edition collectible Pure Mini Shea Butter (RM33) to contribute their part. Thanks to the dedication of the L’OCCITANE Malaysia retail team, a total of 1,250 pieces of Pure Mini Shea Butter were sold, bringing the total amount of funds raised to RM40,000; channelled to the two blind associations with RM20,000 respectively.
L’OCCITANE Malaysia’s contribution of a total of RM42,258 (RM20,000 from the sales of local charity initiative & RM22,258 subsidised by L’OCCITANE FOUNDATION FRANCE) to MAB for its 2013/2014 fundraising initiative comes in the form of the Daily Living Skills Project, where the funds were channelled to the Kinta Valley Center, Ipoh Branch. The project involves the setting-up of a kitchen and bedroom equipped with educational tools, so that the visually-impaired can learn basic domestic skills in a realistic environment so they are able to live independently.
L’OCCITANE Malaysia PR Manager Clarance Boo said, “The journey of this 5-year partnership with MAB has given us the opportunity to meet and work with an amazing group of people. They’ve helped open our eyes to a new world of possibilities to help the visually-impaired. We hope that together, we will be able to expand and grow MAB’s Kinta Valley Centre & St Nicholas’ Home so that the visually-impaired are able to lead normal, fulfilling lives.”
This year also marks a new beginning for L’OCCITANE Malaysia as they have branched out their reach to help St. Nicholas’ Home in Penang. Founded in 1926, St. Nicholas Home is a non-profit and non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to help blind and visually-impaired residents. RM20,000 was donated to the home to furnish Taska OKU St. Nicholas with educational-related toys. With L’OCCITANE Malaysia’s contribution, visually-impaired children at the nursery can use the tools to develop their psychomotor, cognitive and social skills to the best optimum level possible.
Daniel Soon, Executive Director of St. Nicholas Home shared, “Touted as the first of TASKA of its kind in Malaysia, it’s an honour for us to be on the receiving end of L’OCCITANE Malaysia’s contribution. Thanks to the funds, we are able to equip our nursery with educational tools for visually-impaired babies and children to improve their skills, so that they are able to live as normally as possible and we would like to create more awareness not just in Penang but nationwide.”
“As a conscious beauty company, L’OCCITANE is dedicated in many aspects such as sustainable development, eco-consciousness, and not forgetting our support towards the betterment of society. By helping to create awareness and raise funds on behalf of the visually-impaired, we’re able to provide them with more opportunities to improve their lives. We’re lucky to be blessed with the gift of sight; and we want more people around the world to realise and understand our role in helping those who are less fortunate,” commented Mr Tan Seong Teck, Director of L’OCCITANE Malaysia during his recent visit to St Nicholas’ Home, Penang.
Association for the Blind (MAB)’s Kinta Valley Center in Ipoh, Perak. The visit was in conjunction with L’OCCITANE Malaysia’s signature fundraising campaign, where they have been working together with MAB to raise funds to improve the lives of the visually-impaired in Malaysia.
Third left: L’OCCITANE Malaysia PR Manager Clarance Boo
L’OCCITANE Malaysia PR Manager Clarance Boo said, “The journey of this 5-year partnership with MAB has given us the opportunity to meet and work with an amazing group of people. They’ve helped open our eyes to a new world of possibilities to help the visually-impaired. We hope that together, we will be able to expand and grow MAB’s Kinta Valley Centre & St Nicholas’ Home so that the visually-impaired are able to lead normal, fulfilling lives.”
This year also marks a new beginning for L’OCCITANE Malaysia as they have branched out their reach to help St. Nicholas’ Home in Penang. Founded in 1926, St. Nicholas Home is a non-profit and non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to help blind and visually-impaired residents. RM20,000 was donated to the home to furnish Taska OKU St. Nicholas with educational-related toys. With L’OCCITANE Malaysia’s contribution, visually-impaired children at the nursery can use the tools to develop their psychomotor, cognitive and social skills to the best optimum level possible.
