CHAMPS® & NASOM Champions Autism Awareness Fundraiser Featuring Art Crafted by Autism Children

This year, in conjunction with World Autism Month, Malaysia’s largest vitamin brand for children, CHAMPS® - Mother’s Choice for Champions, together with the charitable non-governmental organisation The National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM), marks their fifth year in collaboration to augment nationwide awareness towards the acceptance of Autism in Malaysia.

CHAMPS is the established child health supplement brand from the Consumer Healthcare (CHC) arm of leading pharmaceutical company Duopharma Biotech Berhad (Duopharma Biotech).

The launch of the 2021 CHAMPS®-NASOM Autism Awareness campaign, themed ‘Kasihi Autisme Bersama CHAMPS®’, was graced by YB Khairy Jamaluddin, Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation. Over 150 pieces of hand painted art by the autistic children were also showcased to be part of the fundraiser in support NASOM’s services and programmes.

4th from left: YB Khairy Jamaluddin, Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation

Khairy highlighted “My wife and I are personally invested in the cause to promote autism awareness and providing them access to therapy, especially helping families who cannot afford the fees. We believe that every autistic child should be acknowledged as well as nurtured to their fullest potential and lead a meaningful life”.
CHAMPS® will also include a sales contribution, collaborating with Guardian Malaysia, where RM1 from the sale of every CHAMPS® Vitamin C promotion pack will be donated to NASOM. This partnership is together with one of CHAMPS® biggest retail chain to drive in-store shout-outs to purchases of CHAMPS® Vitamin C products throughout April 2021. Over the years, CHAMPS® has contributed RM269, 217.50 to NASOM, which has advanced the industry collaboration to a new level.

Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar, Group Managing Director of Duopharma Biotech said "We are proud to mark the momentous 5th year in collaboration with NASOM in championing the cause of creating greater autism awareness and acceptance in Malaysia. For the first time through this campaign, the artistic talents are being shined on, showcasing the art created by the autism children under NASOM’s Art Therapy Programme.”

“We are confident that the ‘Kasihi Autisme Bersama CHAMPS®’ Autism Awareness campaign will be a catalyst to widen the support for the autism community while nurturing their talents as well as inclusivity within the society, and continue communicating themselves through art,” he further added.

Autism is recognised to be one of the fastest growing conditions globally, and covers a wide range of developmental disorders in areas of social interaction and basic communication skills. One of the ways of communication that NASOM does is art therapy for autism children to help them find themselves and be able to communicate through creative expression. Art has been shown to be a highly positive intervention tool for children with autism, allowing them to freely express their thoughts and feelings.

Expressing appreciation for Duopharma Biotech’s support and contribution over the past five years, Dato’ Megat Ahmad Shahrani Megat Sharuddin, NASOM President said, “We hope that through the ‘Kasihi Autisme Bersama CHAMPS®’ campaign that the public would be able to recognise these children and the ways that they communicate. Each child is different and autistic children even more so. Art in itself is a form of therapy that can not only help enrich a child’s imagination, but also improve their skills and develops their ability to interact with others. This method is especially instrumental among autism children, and with the right encouragement, we hope that they can flourish as well as enrich the society with their creativity.”

The art pieces by NASOM’s autism children will be available for sale on www.dbhealth2go.com starting 8th April 2021 to 15th June 2021. All proceeds from the sale will go towards NASOM’s cause to improve the quality of life for people with autism and their families through programmes, services, resources, knowledge and social innovation, and promoting the rights and opportunities for people with autism.

The CHAMPS-NASOM Autism Awareness campaign has garnered the Malaysia Health and Wellness Brand Award 2017 under the Best CSR category from the Ministry of Health Malaysia.