Caring Spirit and A Helping Hand
If compassion had a human face, it could have personified the many donors from all over the globe who rallied to offer humanitarian assistance in cash and kind to victims affected by the wrath of natural catastrophes.
One of these faces would have personified Unilever as a caring corporate company.
Working through its own network within Unilever SEAA, Unilever Malaysia shared its caring spirit in support of the victims of typhoon Ketsana in the Philippines and the earthquake in Padang, Indonesia.
Hosting two separate occasions to help raise funds, Unileverites in Malaysia held both a special sale of Unilever products as well as a charity luncheon to collect donations for those who had lost their homes and belongings as a result of the natural disasters. The monetary assistance will also bridge on-ground humanitarian assistance provided in association with other international bodies towards reconstructing communal infrastructure and alleviating food shortages due to the devastating calamities in the two regions.
Looking beyond the bottom-line, Unilever Malaysia’s stable of best-selling brands – Rexona, Sunsilk, Breeze, Clear, Lux, Lifebuoy, Fair & Lovely, Vaseline, Dove and Pepsodent were put to sale at the charity appeal in October at Menara TM, where its headquarter offices are located. The bargain offers were generously snapped up by the business community in and around Menara TM as word spread about the charity sale which came with bargain offers.
In the same month, the Touching Hearts of Unilever reached out with another charitable act when it held a Charity Luncheon sale that hinged on whetting the tastebuds of fellow Unilever colleagues. With an array of tasty and healthy lunch fare featuring both savoury and sweet selections prepared by its in-house culinary team from its own Foodsolutions kitchen, the coffers were soon quickly filled with donations from lunch patrons who snapped up the foodpacks.
In all, the two fund-raisers netted a sizable collection, of which RM12,742 was handed over via Unilever Philippines to be channeled to the Ketsana Hurricane Relief Fund while RM6,371 was forwarded to the Padang earthquake victims through the offices of Unilever Indonesia.
Nearer to home, Unilever Malaysia was also quick to bring cheer to flood-affected residents in Selama (Perak), Pasir Mas (Kelantan) and Rantau Panjang (Terengganu), who were affected by the usual havoc wreaked by the year-end monsoon season. Rallying its various regional offices in the peninsular into action, Unilever immediately dispatched an assortment of home and personal care items worth a combined total of RM230,000 to lessen the burden of the displaced residents and aid in their recovery efforts.
On 7 December, 307 families seeking temporary shelter at the relief centre at the SMK Gua Tinggi in Rantau Panjang, Terengganu were relieved to receive Unilever products such as Dove shower cream, Lady’s Choice peanut butter and Lipton milk tea. The redistribution was overseen by assistant district officer Encik Mohd Ridzuan bin Sulaiman and the local flood relief organisation’s committee member, Puan Halima with Unilever Area Sales Executive, Lee Han Boon, in attendance. A similar presentation ceremony was also held in Pasir Mas, Kelantan for 300 families where Unilever was represented by Arana Selam Muthusamy, Asst Area Sales Manager (Kuantan).
In Perak, Depot Executive Mohamed Jeffri Jaafar represented the Company on 11 December to present goodies to the Penghulu (village head) of Daerah Selama. These were later re-distributed to the 788 affected residents from 180 families. It was the first-ever relief effort extended by a private sector company to the villagers in the Perak district, as reported by the grateful penghulu.
