SANDAKAN: Four Points by Sheraton Hotel here will be organising a charity dinner on September 16 together with Persatuan Amal Nasional 1 Malaysia (GIVE) with the support of Sawit Kinabalu to raise funds for the Children’s Ward of Duchess of Kent Hospital (HDOK).
The dinner will see performances by celebrities and a fashion show by renowned designers, as well as an auction of vacation packages and jewelleries.
Four Points general manager Peter Padman told a press conference at HDOK here yesterday that the event is a corporate social responsibility of the hotel and they are aiming to raise RM100,000.
The dinner will comprise 38 tables priced at RM1,800, RM2,800 and RM5,000.
GIVE president Betty Bohier said the charity body was founded about two years ago and it does not specialise in a specific target group, but aims to help individuals and animals in need.
“For the dinner, we are planning to channel 90% to the children’s ward of HDOK and another 10% to the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre.
“We planned this project after I visited the hospital recently. There were nine children who were malnourished. One was only fed with condensed milk for the past nine months because the parents could not afford milk.
“Hence we have decided that the funds raised would be used for food as well as transportation cost for those who are from outside of Sandakan,” she said.
Betty said she hopes the event will be the beginning of an annual event to raise funds for patients in need.
Prior to the press conference, Peter, Betty, Group Managing Director of Sawit Kinabalu, Datuk Othman Walat and HDOK Director Dr Francis Paul visited the children’s ward and gave out goodies to 32 patients.
Francis said that there are patients who require assistance from social welfare services.
“Our social services saw 2,260 referals in 2016. About 394 required assistance for airflight tickets, usually to Kota Kinabalu; 499 on land transport, 109 on medical devices and personal aid, 485 on MAKNA assistance and 85 on assistance for institutional placements.
“The welfare fund in HDOK obtains its financial resources largely from Hospimart. The income is used for immediate assistance as mentioned above, usually on medical devices and travelling cost of not more than RM500.
“However, medical devices such as hearing aids cost thousands of ringgit. Although we receive funding from the national welfare fund and other NGOs, our resources are limited only to those essential needs mentioned,” he said.
The funds raised would be given as food and transportation cost to target families of patients in the children’s ward of HDOK.