After successfully fulfilling its promises made four months ago to the less fortunate, disabled and underprivileged, The Truly Loving Company’s TLC Promise Me campaign officially came to a close via a Recognition Ceremony on the 10^th November 2010, in honour of all its participants.The campaign in collaboration with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development and Bernama TV as its Official TV partner saw 70 wishes granted from TLC’s four charity partners such as The Handicapped & Mentally Disabled Children Association Johor Bahru, Hospis Malaysia, National Stroke Association of Malaysia and Rumah Aman

(TLC Founder and CEO, Julia Chong)

The ceremony saw all TLC Promise Me participants receiving their certificates of appreciation from Julia Chong, CEO and Founder of The Truly Loving Company. “We are extremely delighted with the levels of engagement of our youth participants such as AIESEC Malaysia, ELC International School and Nuffnang together with caring corporations. Collectively we surpassed our expectations of our initial campaign goals and won over the hearts and minds of our respective communities by our actions”. Chong added. She later presented certificates of appreciation to the campaign’s media partners and cited that their participation enabled the campaign to highlight extraordinary stories of how youths were helping the less fortunate regardless of race, religion or creed.

(AIESEC Malaysia President Mohamad Alif)

(Nuffnang blogger Kimberly Low)

(Divya Kolakada and Thariq Rudy of ELC International School)

The audience was also treated to a story-telling session, where three selected youth participants shared their TLC Promise Me moments with the audience. Mohammad Alif, President of AIESEC Malaysia, Nuffnang blogger Kimberly Low and ELC International School head student Thariq Rudy collectively described the sense of empowerment they received by taking charge of their respective pledges and successfully fulfilling it. Ms Low aptly summed up her experience, “I am still overwhelmed and touched by the amount of support shown by not just friends but complete strangers. I’ve promised myself that whenever I feel jaded or disappointed with people, most often than not over petty, silly issues, I will always think about this amazing display of generosity, kindness and selflessness to remind myself again that there is good in this world.”

The Recognition Ceremony concluded with Chong’s remarks that TLC’s Promise Me had demonstrated to the nation that via the courage, tenacity and warmth of all its participants that lending a helping hand to the underprivileged in our society is rewarding and ultimately strengthens our ties to the communities that we all belong to.

When about her personal wish from the campaign, she replied, “As we Malaysians move together in transforming our country into a high-income nation, my personal wish is for us all to develop a culture of caring for our communities regardless of race, religion or creed. That way, the wealth of our nation’s soul is not only measured by the size of its coffers but also by the warmth of its people and its willingness to help others in need.”

This was probably the hardest and most audacious pledge – to fulfill Hospis Malaysia’s 15 wishes for medical equipment to ease the suffering of their patients. Our journey wasn’t easy as we quickly found out that fulfilling many of their patient’s wishes is both difficult and intangible. It breaks our heart when some of the wishes were for the patients wishing to be in less pain or a father wishing to live a little longer so that he would be able to see his daughter attend her first day of school.

There was also the fact that it would be irresponsible of us to expose youths to bereavement during this campaign. After much brainstorming,  we arrived at a solution where we replaced the 15 wishes of individuals to become 15 pieces of medical equipment which Hospis Malaysia needed. As a charity which provides palliative care, Hospis Malaysia also loans medical equipment without charge to their poorer patients. Unfortunately there is a constant shortage and a long waiting list for items such as nebulizers and oxygen concentrators.

We felt that this was the most appropriate action that would benefit Hospis Malaysia but were equally shocked by the amount we need to raise – RM34,400! It looked like a very long road for us, especially when this campaign was the first-of-its-kind and we had to find a way (or many) to deliver on our pledge!

That was when we had to spread the Hospis Malaysia pledge to just about everybody we knew and ask them to help us fulfill it. It was a nerve-racking journey and at the end of the day, everybody pulled together to make it possible and we actually overdelivered on our initial pledge! Can’t believe it till this day!!!

Making it possible were the kind folks from Bald4Good (by Wit Ink Creative), AIESEC Malaysia, Bernama TV and TLC’s own Wonderladies. Their individual stories can be found throughout the website and it serves as an inspiration to the dreams and wishes we can achieve together in helping the less fortunate!

2nd December 2010 – Malaysian Today (Promises fulfilled with Tender Loving Care)

17^th October 2010 – Sin Chew Daily (TLC’s Promise Me Stories)

10^th October 2010 – Sin Chew Daily (TLC’s Promise Me Stories)

6^th October 2010 – Bernama (Sharizat fulfils her pledges under Promise Me campaign) (URL Link)

3^rd October 2010 – Sin Chew Daily (TLC’s Promise Me Stories)

3^rd September 2010 – The Sun (Orphan’s Dreams fulfilled) (URL Link)

30^th August 2010 – The Star (A shutterbug’s wish) (URL Link)

30^th August 2010 – News Straits Times (Joining forces to fulfill the wishes of orphans) (URL Link)

30^th August 2010 – Harian Metro (Kibar Jalur Gemilang)

30^th August 2010 – China Press (Mohd Hatim Photography Exhibition)

27^th August 2010 – Nanyang (Mohd Hatim Photography Exhibition)

27^th August 2010 – China Press (Mohd Hatim Photography Exhibition)

26^th August 2010 – Malay Mail (Santokh Singh + AIESEC Chess) (URL Link)

24^th August 2010 – Oriental Daily (AIESEC Malaysia – Chess Game for Mr Teoh)

19^th August 2010 – Malaysian Today (TLC’s Promise Me Stories) (URL Link)

14^TH August 2010 – The Star (Bald4Good Announcement) (URL Link 01) (URL Link 02)

11^th August 2010 – The Sun (AIESEC Malaysia Chess Game for Mr Teoh) (URL Link)

6^th August 2010 – The Sun (Thoughtful retail therapy for two stroke victims) (URL Link)

4^th August 2010 – The Sun (Truly Loving Youths)

20^th July 2010 – News Straits Times (Chong’s Tender Loving Care) (URL Link)

16^th July 2010 – Malay Mail (Shower them with your love) (URL Link)

15^th July 2010 – Malaysian Today (Architect of Change) (URL Link)

13th July 2010 – The Sun (Making Wishes Come True) (URL Link)

9th July 2010 – Komunitikini.com (A promise for charity)

9th July 2010 – Red Tomato (TLC and Promise Me)

7th July 2010 – Nuffnang.com (“Promise Me” by The Truly Loving Company)

7th July 2010 – Voize.My (Make your Promise)

6th July 2010 – Marketing-Interactive.com (TLC says “Promise Me” )

6th July 2010 – Sun2Surf (Fulfilling the wishes of the underprivileged)

5th July 2010 – Adoi Magazine.com ( Pulse gets some TLC )

29th June 2010 – Oriental Daily (TLC’s Promise Me)

25th June 2010 – Voize.My (TLC Promise Me campaign – Are you game? )

17^th June 2010 – The Edge Financial Daily (TLC’s Promise Me)

(Group Picture of Cheque Ceremony to Hospis Malaysia)

Various community groups from TLC’s Promise Me campaign fulfilled their pledges to Hospis Malaysia and presented a total of RM42,150.70 to the charity’s general manager, Puan Rosehayati Ahmad Noordin. The proceeds will be used to buy a variety of medical equipment such as syringe drivers, oxygen concentrators, nebulisers, wheelchairs and ripple mattresses. “By providing us a wide range of new medical equipment, Hospis Malaysia is now better placed to deliver a better quality of care to our patients especially for the individuals who cannot afford such equipment” said Ahmad Noordin. She added that the equipment will greatly bring comfort and ease to their patients.

The four groups involved used a variety of ways to deliver on their promises. Bald4Good, a social media campaign by Wit Ink Creative dared 11 brave individuals including two sisters to go bald for charity. By leveraging on its network of clients and friends, together with Schick-Energizer, Kaspersky and Autogridz magazine, they raised RM35,320 on August 21^st, 2010 at a shaving ceremony at Social Changkat, Bukit Bintang.

(Bald4Good participants)

AIESEC Malaysia pooled together its network of communities such as AIESEC Alumni Malaysia, Local Comittees in Taylor’s University College, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Malaya together with student members, Michele Chang and Low Tzu Peng to deliver on a total of RM4680 to Hospis Malaysia

(AIESEC President Mohammad Alif representing AIESEC participants)

Similarly, The Truly Loving Company’s Wonderladies whipped up a charity breakfast spread in HP Towers and engaged neighbouring offices to support their initiative. A total of RM1480 was netted from their sales of delicious pastries and cakes.

Bernama TV as the official TV partner of the campaign organized a Garage Sale in Wisma Bernama on October 5^th, 2010 and engaged their staff to contribute pre-loved items for sale. They raised a total of RM1270 to fulfil three pledges allocated to them and donated the balance of RM720 to Hospis Malaysia.

(Fayzrul Yaakob representing Bernama TV)

 (Final Amount Raised)

Julia Chong, CEO of The Truly Loving Company, said “We welcome the way TLC Promise Me campaign engages individuals as well as corporations in a relevant yet rewarding manner.” She thanked the individuals for going the extra distance in fulfilling their pledges and added that TLC’s Promise Me had delivered an additional 23% worth of funding for new medical equipment on top of its original list of pledges to Hospis Malaysia at the beginning of the campaign.

(Original list of 15 pledges promised to Hospis Malaysia. 15 pledges = 15 pieces of equipment)

Visit www.tlcpromiseme.com to be inspired on how youths are the change they want their community to be.

We would sincerely like to thank all the media organizations who came for our launch and we’ve uploaded the press articles for those who missed it.

25th June 2010 – Voize.My (TLC Promise Me campaign – Are you game? )

29th June 2010 – Oriental Daily Press Article (scan below)

5th July 2010 – Adoi Magazine.com ( Pulse gets some TLC )

6th July 2010 – Sun2Surf (Fulfilling the wishes of the underprivileged)

6th July 2010 – Marketing-Interactive.com (TLC says “Promise Me” )

7th July 2010 – Voize.My (Make your Promise)

7th July 2010 – Nuffnang.com (“Promise Me” by The Truly Loving Company)

9th July 2010 – Komunitikini.com (A promise for charity)

13th July 2010 – The Sun Newspaper and Sun2Surf (Making wishes come true)

14th July 2010 – Red Tomato Press Article (scan below)

Learning to ride a bicycle, going shopping, learning to speak again, or having a comfortable mattress to sleep on; these are things we all take for granted. But for someone who is an orphan, or a stroke survivor or is disabled and bed-ridden, they can be a dream come true.

These are among the wishes that young Malaysians from AISEC, ELC International School and Nuffnang bloggers will turn into reality within a month under the Promise Me youth engagement programme initiated by The Truly Loving Company (TLC). During the one-month campaign period, the youth who have volunteered to make these wishes come true, will record their progress at www.tlcpromiseme.com, a dedicated microsite that will allow the online public to follow their individual journeys and participate by assisting the youths in fulfilling their pledges.

About 70 wishes have come in from TLC’s charity partners:  The Handicapped & Mentally Disabled Children Association Johor Bahru, Hospis Malaysia, National Stroke Association of Malaysia and Rumah Aman.

TLC’s Promise Me campaign was launched on 5^th July 2010 by Dato’ Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Minister of Women, Family & Community Development at the concourse of the Bangsar Shopping Complex. Also present at the launch was Engku Emran bin Engku Zainal Abidin, the CEO of Bernama TV.

Julia Chong, CEO and Founder of The Truly Loving Company commented that Promise Me is about channeling the collective energy of communities in helping the less privileged in our society. “As Gen Y is the next generation of opinion leaders and decision makers, it is important that we inculcate in them caring values so that when they venture into the work force, Corporate Social Responsibility becomes a way of life,” she said.

Dato’ Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil emphasized that this campaign was an excellent example of how the ministry can collaborate with the private sector to jointly benefit the community and demonstrate the caring values of all Malaysians. She said the TLC Promise Me campaign was an innovative and inspirational way to engage youth in community development.

“Youth are the trustees of our future, and critical stakeholders in all aspects of society. With their energy, motivation and fresh outlook on things, they can make a big difference to the wellbeing of our community. I am really looking forward to seeing the outcome of this programme,” she added.

Engku Emran, CEO of Bernama TV felt that this project is very meaningful and as the official TV partner, Bernama TV can help spread the caring message of the TLC Promise Me campaign. It will be a heart-warming experience to embark on and it inspires the public to help the less fortunate as there is nothing more gratifying than contributing to and changing the lives of others for the better.

Pulse Group PLC (Asia’s leading Digital Research Agency – www.pulse-group.com) is also supporting this campaign with the tracking of TLC’s brand and campaign awareness, usage and attitude trends in order to help TLC develop future strategic directions. Bob Chua, CEO of Pulse said “We are extremely delighted to be able to participate in such an important program, and wish that more companies would contribute to such causes in the future”.

The Truly Loving Company (www.thetrulylovingcompany.com) is Malaysia’s first social enterprise which pledges 100% of its dividends to its Charity Partners through The Truly Loving Company Charitable Trust held by HSBC (Malaysia) Trustees Bhd. TLC’s revenue is derived from sales of the TLC brand of quality household and personal care products such as dishwashing liquid, floor and toilet bowl cleaners, shower crèmes and hand & body lotions in retail outlets and hypermarkets such as Giant, Tesco, Jusco, Carrefour and Cold Storage.

Bernama TV was launched on 28^th February 2008, and it is Malaysia’s first 24 hours news channel, delivering up to the minute news from all over Malaysia, Asia and around the globe. This 24 hours news channel delivers local news with an international style creating Malaysian News that is accessible, pertinent, relevant and current. Bernama TV offers news in four languages; Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mandarin and Tamil. Besides current news, the network also air other news- based programmes like Sukan@Bernama, and live talk shows/ forums

such as 1Konsumer and Helo Malaysia which discusses current issues and featuring interviews with well- known local personalities and celebrities. Bernama TV News Channel is available on ASTRO’s Channel 502.

AIESEC (www.aiesec.my) is a global, non-political, independent, not-for-profit organization run by students and recent graduates of institutions of higher education for leadership and management development. AIESEC Malaysia was started in 1968 and currently has 10 local chapters nationwide in public and private universities with over 500 active members. AIESEC Malaysia aims to create greater awareness amongst Malaysians about the importance of equipping our youth with practical experience and leadership skills, to have a positive impact on our society.

Over the years, elc International School (www.elc.edu.my) has unwaveringly pursued one guiding objective, which is to make a significant contribution towards the development of its students into responsible and successful men and women of the future. The school’s vision is to be an outstanding school by world standards in the academic and social development of its students through student and staff passion for excellence, loyalty and commitment

Nuffnang.com is Asia-Pacific’s first and leading blog advertising community. It reaches out to more than 100,000 blogs within Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and the Philippines. Beyond blog advertising, they also pride themselves in being a community for bloggers by bloggers, organizing and supporting a wide range of events such as movie screenings, seminars/ workshops, parties and much more for their bloggers. Their community has in the past participated in a number of charitable causes such as the Befrienders, SPCA, WWF’s Save the Sumatran Rhino campaign, WWF Earth Hour 2009, etc

Go to www.tlcpromiseme.com to follow the stories of how these wishes are being fulfilled

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