Following the resounding success of their seniors, 218 Public Relations
students are making waves again with their upcoming PR Campaign 2014/2015
Volunteerism IV.
Evenly
divided into five groups with different sub-themes, namely, Road Safety,
Food Tourism, Vandalism, Environment and Charity, the Year Two and Year One
students will champion their respective group’s cause through a series of
thematic activities which will not only raise awareness but also contribute
to the community. To do so, each group will need to raise funds in order to
ensure the sustainability of their activities throughout the campaign
period.
Group
1, with the sub-theme of “Road Safety”, started the fund-raising ball
rolling by organising a musical drama-cum-Christmas ball titled “Hogwarts
Christmas: A Route to Magical Chamber” on 10 November 2014. The event proved
to be a hit amongst UTARians for attracting more than 500 people. “The sub
–theme of Group 1 focuses on educating the people in Kampar about road
safety and creating awareness such as being a responsible road user and
others,” introduced Director of Group 1 Melody Leong Wai Lok, who also
extended her gratitude to everyone during the opening ceremony for their
ardent support.
(Clockwise from bottom left) Leong giving her opening address followed by a
series of performances
Group
photo of Group 1 with the sub-theme “Road Safety”
This
was followed by Group 4’s Environment-themed “Go Green” Food Carnival which
was a collaboration with Restaurant Jia, Kampar at Jalan Masjid, Kampar on
16 November 2014. Aimed to instill a commitment to environmental protection
amongst the community as well as to raise funds, the successful food
carnival invited Deputy Minister of Ministry of International Trade and
Industry Dato’ Lee Chee Leong represented by Special Officer Siew Shen Kae,
Kampar District Police Chief Supt Ng Kong Soon, Dean of Faculty of Arts and
Social Science (FAS) Dr Cheah Phaik Kin, Owner of Restaurant Jia,
Kampar-cum-Vice Chairperson of Kampar Hawkers and Petty Traders Assocation
Choi Yuet Lay and Head of Department of Public Relations Ng Eng Kiat.
Director of Group 4 Tharneswaran A/L Gunasegaran introduced the group’s
approach in raising awareness on being environmental friendly by encouraging
the utilisation of reusable utensils and food containers instead of
disposable ones. “By doing so, we’ll be able to reduce the amount of trash
produced as well as the rate of deforestation,” he added. Siew thanked the
organising committee for the invitation and lauded the effort in advocating
for the improvement of the nature environment. Supt Ng concurred and said,
“The recent landslides and muddy floods in Cameron Highlands are caused by
excessive deforestation. Hopefully the upcoming projects by this group will
be able to raise the awareness of environmental protection to a next level.”
Dr
Cheah (second from right) presenting a token of appreciation to Choi (fourth
from left) while Ng (most left), Siew, Supt Ng and Tharneswaran (most right)
looked on
Group
photo of Group 4 with the sub-theme “Environment”
Group
3’s blazing “Ibiza Summer Beach Party” on 17 November 2014 was also attended
by Dr Cheah, Ng and sponsor Seeties representative Tang Kar Ming. According
to Director of Group 3 Soon Chia Jun, the group is committed to creating
awareness on the impact of vandalism, which is the sub-theme, amongst
UTARians, and extending to the Kampar community. “Another purpose of this
campaign would be to change the negative behaviour of youngsters in order to
maintain the order of public properties,” he added. Dr Cheah commended the
organising committee for their concerted effort in making the event a huge.
“We are also thankful to Seeties for their generous sponsorship and also
their representative, Tang, who is currently our Public Relations final year
student. Tang is one of the outstanding UTAR students who have not only
excelled in the industry during their internship, but also hired even before
they graduate,” she said in her address to the 600-strong crowd.
Dr
Cheah (middle), accompanied by Soon (left) presenting a certificate of
appreciation to Tang (right)
Group
photo of Group 3 with the sub-theme “Vandalism”
The
“Awakening Castle” musical drama on 18 November 2014 was another
fund-raising event by Group 2, whose sub-theme is “Food Tourism”. “Compared
to other cities and places, ‘Kampar’ might not ring a bell in the public’s
mind as a food paradise. Therefore, through our group’s campaign, we hope to
promote Kampar’s food culture so that it is more widely known. At the end of
the campaign, we would like to present to everyone, a self-designed
directory map which indicates the location of all the delicious food,”
explained Director of Group 2 Bey Bun Kiat during the opening ceremony,
which attracted more than 450 students. “Through our effort in promoting
Kampar as a food paradise, we also hope to attract more tourists,” he
continued.
(Clockwise from top left) Bey delivering his speech, followed by the
entertaining musical drama and performances
Group
photo of Group 2 with the sub-theme “Food Tourism”
Group
5’s “Purple Charity Flea Market” held at Learning Complex 1 from 18 to 19
November 2014 was also a hit amongst UTARians. Visitors were mesmerised by
the Group’s creativity in making full use of the building’s architecture and
natural lighting. They arranged 28 rainbow-coloured unfolded umbrellas above
the building’s air well, transforming the venue into a colourful and vibrant
flea market. Director of Group 5 Joycelyn Teh said that in line with the
Group’s sub-theme, “Charity”, the charity flea market will first raise funds
for the Group’s upcoming charities to ease the burden of the underprivileged
communities by donating basic necessities to them. “To encourage
participation from staff and students, the flea market offers free Henna
drawing and free redemption of mystery gifts to all November babies. This is
to spread the message that even the smallest act of giving could create
differences or happiness in the life of others,” said Teh, who added that
the organising committee also encouraged participants to bring along 1kg of
sundry goods to be donated to the needy.
Group
5’s crowd-pulling flea market with a touch of creativity and kindness
Group
photo of Group 5 with the sub-theme “Charity”
PR
Campaign 2014/2015 Volunteerism IV will kick off in January 2015.
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