[25 February 2018 – 3 March 2018]
‘Each of you should give what
you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.’ – II Corinthians 9:7
‘So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others … But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.’ – Matthew 6:2-4
Blessed day, everyone!
Spooky how the time takes wing when we are busy accomplishing our tasks! And here we go, having only a month left for preparation. We are seemingly getting
closer to the days of event. Assuredly I am getting more eager to meet the
children in Pusat Jagaan NURI and that’s why, we have to plan all the things
nicely.
Many things took place this week that I
felt as if it’s a-year long. In this week’s meeting, we were glad to know that
there are sponsors for the goody bags and keychains. Furthermore, we had
received the UM Vice Chancellor’s sponsorship request approval letter and so we
can start looking for sponsors. At the same time, our treasurer, Hui Yuan
presented the revenue and budget which clearly depicted that we run short of
money. We also continued our cake sale this week.
▲Figure 1: Fourth
formal weekly meeting with Dr Arpah
▲Figure 2: Cake
distribution for cake sales
This 4th academic week marked
our first donation drive, a more robust approach planned by my bureau to raise
funds. We split into 2 groups, by which I joined the team to Taman Tun Dr
Ismail (TTDI), along with Rehana, the director and Adilah, my bureau leader on
2 March 2018 (Friday). Since I have never been for donation drive, many
thoughts came across my mind. Will we face rejection? Will we be treated as
swindlers? How much money will we be able to raise? Nonetheless, I beseeched
God for journey mercy and a fruitful approach.
After a briefing on what important
documents to show and how to persuade the companies, we boldly approached some
potential companies and shop lots around the area for donation collections and sponsorship requests. One of them was the renowned corporation,
Naelofar Hijab, where we were kindly greeted by the manager and she was willing
to spare her time hearing our explanation about the programme.
▲Figure 3, 4: Donation Drive: Sponsorship request at
Naelofar Hijab
Praise be to God that this donation drive resulted in some voluntary donations by the citizens as well as submission of our sponsorship requests to several companies for further considerations despite of the many challenges, particularly rejections we faced. What a precious experience!
Also, it is time for me to gather a list of potential companies, get ready with the documents needed and prepare to write emails to request for sponsorships from potential companies for the next few weeks. This is really a challenge to me to really embark on effective business communication and advanced professional writing. In such a limited period of time, I sincerely hope that there are corporations willing to sponsor this social engagement programme.
Throughout the donation drive I learnt to persevere with the obstacles faced in collecting donations and in quest of sponsorships. Besides, I learnt to be patient and to exercise wisdom and effective communication skills when approaching the various communities. I also noticed that there are, in fact, many kind-hearted folks out there. This is especially true from what was reported by another donation drive team at Petaling Street, that they encountered a Chinese aunty who donated a pile of toys with sincerity so much so that she wished to remain anonymous. May God bless their giving! In addition, I am pleased to have such committed teammates who put their greatest efforts in the whole process.
^_^
Posted by: Lee Jian Di
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