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Swire Properties' Community Ambassador Programme kicked off the two-day Love's Team Charity Bazaar with an official ceremony today on Tong Chong Street in Island East. The bazaar is both a celebration of the programme's 10-year anniversary as well as a fundraising event for five non-profit organisations. Besides having thousands of books and handcrafted products for sale, the bazaar features creative workshops and a range of entertaining performances, and is expected to welcome around 5,000 to 8,000 visitors and raise a total of HK$1 million over the next two days.
All proceeds from the charity bazaar will be donated to support the community development work of the five NGOs who co-organised the event - Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong (ADA), The Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong (BGCA), SAHK, St. James' Settlement and WWF-Hong Kong. The Swire Group Charitable Trust has pledged to match funds raised in the bazaar.
Mr Davy Ho, Swire Properties' Executive Director, opened the bazaar with a special ceremony which was attended by guest of honour Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, Secretary for Labour and Welfare, and senior representatives of the five co-organisers and NGO partners.
"We are very proud of our Community Ambassadors. The time and skill they put into their work is clearly evident today - months of careful preparation and planning have gone into this event, and the Love's Team Charity Bazaar is a fine example of their accomplishments this year," said Ho.
Guest of honour Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-Chung also said during the ceremony that the Ambassadors had made a sterling contribution to community service in the past decade. "To build a truly caring and compassionate society and to promote the long-term development of social services, tripartite collaboration among the business sector, community and government is of paramount importance. I hope that more private corporations like Swire Properties will proactively engage in corporate volunteering services and join hands with other social partners to provide diversified social services to the community," he said.
A 1.7-metre LEGO® brick replica of the 'Happy Man' mascot for Swire Properties' Community Ambassador Programme greets visitors at the entrance to the bazaar, and Christmas shoppers can enjoy over 30,000 new and second-hand books generously donated by Swire Properties' tenants, residents and customers, an array of handcrafted goods made by Swire Properties' Community Ambassadors, and merchandise donated by Swire group companies and business partners. In addition, various entertainment will be on offer throughout the event, including Christmas carolling, a variety of dance performances and a musical show by disabled performers.
In addition to celebrating their 10-year milestone, Swire Properties' Community Ambassador Programme has been recognised by the Agency for Volunteer Service, which honoured the programme with the Fourth Hong Kong Volunteer Award (Corporate Award) early in October for its work with the community.
About Swire Properties' Community Ambassador Programme
Guided by the philosophy of "Building Communities", Swire Properties established its Community Ambassador Programme in 2001. The programme seeks to help the elderly, the disabled, children and disadvantaged families in the community.
Led by the employees themselves, the programme is an ever-growing network of employees, their families and friends, business partners, tenants, customers and subsidiary companies of Swire. The Company's employees design and organise all of the programme's activities and contribute their skills, professional expertise and resources to support those in need.
Over the past 10 years, the Community Ambassador team has grown from 40 to over 1,000 Ambassadors, who have contributed over 45,000 service hours and participated in over 400 activities to benefit more than 50,000 people in the community.
 | Swire Properties' Community Ambassador Programme is holding the two-day Love's Team Charity Bazaar on 2 and 3 December on Tong Chong Street in Island East. The event is expected to welcome around 5,000 to 8,000 visitors. |
 | Davy Ho (4th on the right), Swire Properties' Executive Director; Matthew Cheung Kin-chung (5th on the right), Secretary for Labour and Welfare, J.B. Rae-Smith (4th on the left), representative of Swire Group Charitable Trust and senior representatives of the five co-organisers and NGO partners officiated the event's opening ceremony. |
 | The 'Books for Love' section proved one of the most popular sections, as crowds visited the huge jumbo book sale featuring over 30,000 new and second-hand books. |