It felt like just yesterday that I joined Cheras Leisure Mall’s Toy Bank 2015 initiative last year! Â Yes It’s back again this year because Cheras Leisure Mall is committed to extend love and care to children in need, especially during the Christmas season, the season of grace, of love and of hope. It is definitely my most favourite time of the year!
Do you want to know how your simple gesture can touch the life of one of the many children? You can by joining the Cheras Leisure Mall annual community programme – Toy Bank, A Gift of Love which is inviting all to extend their love and care by brightening up smiles of more than 600 children this Christmas.
Mr Subramaniam Apparow, Senior Manager, Property Division, PPB Group Berhad said, “The ‘Toy Bank, A Gift of Love’ programme has grown over the years and taken on a life of its own to become the focal point for shoppers, well-wishers and generous members of the public to express their care and concern for underprivileged children.â€
“Over the years, we are glad that the ‘Toy Bank, A Gift of Love’ programme has become a continued tradition for many regular donors who are returning to support this meaningful cause – bringing more and more friends and family members each time. The heartening support of these good Samaritans drives the growth of this community initiative; thrusting us to strive, reach out to more needy groups and connect more people to areas of need in society.â€
“As we celebrate the season of joy and giving, let us also take some time to remember the children that are less fortunate. Let us find it in our hearts to give them a ray of sunshine, so that they too, will shine bright in the future,†Subramaniam added.
You will find these olourful cards bearing three wishes of over 600 children from 18 participating children’s homes and charity houses being hung up by the arcade of the Whimsical Christmas Garden located at the ground floor concourse from 2nd-27th December 2016. Members of the public, you and I,  can be a part of this meaningful activity by fulfilling wishes of these children – select a wishing card, prepare one or more gifts from the child’s wish list, and deposit the gifts together with the wishing card into the Toy Bank. Apart from bearing gifts, participants are encouraged to include a message on the wishing card. You know how important a wish of encouragement is right? Everyone is happy and their spirits lifted even with a simple word. Write something that can inspire these children, your words may be able to carry them very far in life! The gifts of love will be delivered to the hands of the children by the mall management team after the end of the gift collection period.
The recipients this year include children from Bodhi Homecare Cheras, Da Ci Jiang Tang, Desa Amal Jireh, Living Hope Global, Malaysia Lotus Charity Care Centre Association, Malaysian Association for the Welfare of Mentally Challenged Children (IQ70plus), Persatuan Kebajikan Kanak-Kanak Cornerstone, Persatuan Penganut San Bao Gong Kl & Sel, Pertubuhan Kebajikan Anak Yatim Mary KL, Pertubuhan Kebajikan Anak-anak Yatim Sayang KL & Selangor, Pusat Penjagaan Kanak-Kanak Cacat Taman Megah, Rainbow Home, Rumah Charis Children’s Home, Rumah Kanak-Kanak Angels, Rumah Kanak-Kanak Tengku Budriah, Rumah Sayangan, San Pedro Orphanage Home and Trinity Community Children’s Home.
170 children from the participating homes were invited to have a memorable pre-Christmas celebration at the launch of the ‘Toy Bank, A Gift of Love’ 2016 programme held at the mall’s lower ground concourse today. Excited to be the first batch of audience, the children visited Cheras LeisureMall and watched the incredibly cool, Titan the Robot show all the way from UK! It was a day full of merriment for the children as they were also treated to a special screening of the “Moana†movie by Golden Screen Cinemas, delicious lunch, Santa Claus appearance, woodwind, dance and Christmas caroling performances.
For more information about ‘Toy Bank, A Gift of Love’ programme and upcoming event updates, kindly call 03-9132 2386, visit the Cheras LeisureMall Facebook page or send us an email at marketing@ppb.com.my.