Help the needy via Grant-A-Wish campaigns

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In its third year, the Rainbow of Life Forces Gold Ribbon Campaign – Grant-A-Wish brings joy to children and donors alike.

MANY children today think nothing of getting a new set of clothes, something that tends to happen whenever there is a sale. However, for children in orphanages and special homes, having new attire is a big deal.

“As you can see here, many children ask for a new pair of pants, a shirt or shoes,” said Adelyn Lim, founder of the Rainbow of Life Forces (ROLF) Gold Ribbon Campaign – Grant-A-Wish, as she flips through last year’s campaign booklet during an interview recently.

“These children always receive used clothings, so having their very own new outfit is a real treat,” added Lim, 43, managing director of CreatiVision DC, a branding and campaign management company which initiated ROLF as its corporate social responsibility programme in 2007.

Spreading cheer: Adelyn Lim (far left) with some of the children at the Kirtarsh Home for Handicapped and Disabled Children in Rawang, Selangor, who received new bicycles during last year’s Grant-A-Wish campaign.

The Gold Ribbon Campaign grants the wishes of three groups of children – the underprivileged, the physically- and mentally-challenged, and those in need of medical treatment.

There are six other campaigns under ROLF that work with children in various aspects – Blue Ribbon (childhood cancers), Orange Ribbon (youth social responsibility), Green Ribbon (environmental education, tobacco- and drugs-free), Yellow Ribbon (psychological and health needs), Red Ribbon (heart diseases), and Purple Ribbon (child abuse, neglect and sexual exploitation).

This year marks the third Gold Ribbon Campaign, which will be officially launched this Friday. It is also held in conjunction with the United Nations Universal Children’s Day which falls on Nov 20.

Last year, corporate organisations and individuals fulfilled the wishes of 1,100 children from 13 centres while in 2009, 400 children’s requests from eight homes were successfully met.

This year, ROLF shortlisted 13 children’s homes and two hospices for cancer patients (in Selangor, Wilayah Persekutuan, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Penang), selecting lesser-known homes and those in dire need.

If you want to do something important in your life, say a good word to someone, or get involved in charity work, do it now. Don’t wait. — ADELYN LIM

The wish-matching process will run from Sept 23 to Oct 30, while wish-granting ceremonies will be held at the various homes from Nov 1-20. ROLF will also be bringing 170 children to three different venues for outings in November.

The campaign committee works closely with the caretakers of each home to get the children’s requests. Gifts donated must be new items and not exceed RM300 in value. (The children are not allowed to ask for cash. However, donors can help fund tuition or school transportation fees for a child.)

“What we do is get the donors to go to the children’s homes and give the gifts personally to them. We want donors to know exactly who they are donating to, and for them to build a bond with the child,” emphasised Lim, adding that for outstation donors, her team will pass the gifts on their behalf and then send them a photograph of the exchange.

“In many cases, the donor will continue the relationship with the child and further sponsor or help them in the future.”

Penang-born Lim remembers a previous wish from a child – to see his mother.

“Of course, we could not fulfil that wish but it really (moved) us to hear that,” said Lim, adding that for children who are severely challenged mentally, the general needs of their centre like foodstuff, furniture or other equipment are listed as wish items.

“We also want to highlight another issue about meeting the needs of such homes. Many people tend to give things that the homes do not need, and those items actually become a burden to them,” said Lim.

“Once we visited this centre which had a storeroom filled with instant noodles, half of which was expiring soon. Another centre for disabled children had so many packets of groundnuts despite the fact that most of the children living there were not even able to de-shell the nuts.

“So before you donate, pick up the phone and ask what they need,” advised the soft-spoken Lim, who is single.

Having been involved in a few Grant-A-Wish campaigns, Lim realised that a lot of working-class people have the heart to donate but may not be able to afford much.

“This campaign is all about that: providing an avenue for these people to give,” said Lim, who personally led a community project with a group of friends from 1997 to 2007 that built three schools and three clinics in northern India and Qinghai, China, for the Buddhist communities in those areas.

The charitable businesswoman also wants to spread another message – not to procrastinate doing something important.

She lost her brother to stomach cancer in June this year after being diagnosed just a few months earlier.

“I remember my brother helping me in last year’s campaign but for this year’s campaign, he won’t be around.

“If you want to do something important in your life, say a good word to someone, or get involved in charity work, do it now. Don’t wait,” she urged.