Bid online for Rain's backpack for charity

Fancy a pink, studded MCM backpack chosen and donated by South Korean superstar Rain? Or a pair of shades specially handpicked by style icon Victoria Beckham?

These celebrities, together with other stars such as Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, David Beckham, Jackie Chan, Rio Ferdinand, Sergio Aguero and Manny Pacquiao, will be donating signed apparel and personal items to charity.

Members of the public can go online to bid for these items from the middle of this month - the five items that attract the highest bids will go under the hammer at the Business Times Dream Ball on Aug 1.

The auction is part of the Sands for Singapore Festival, a three-day charity event organised by Marina Bay Sands in August. The items can be viewed at an exhibition held at The Shoppes at MBS from the middle of this month.

Proceeds from the auction will go to the Business Times Budding Artists Fund - which helps underprivileged children aged five to 19 develop their talents in music, dance, theatre and the visual arts - as well as the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, which gives a monthly stipend to students from low-income homes to help them with school-related expenses.

The auction is one of the activities lined up for the festival this year. Its inaugural run last year bagged $3.6 million for worthy causes.

The festival is part of the MBS corporate social responsibility programme, which will take place at the integrated resort from Aug 1 to Aug 3.

Funds raised from various events will go towards its designated charities, including the Singapore Association for the Deaf and the Association for Persons with Special Needs.

Some major events include the Business Times Dream Ball, where a highlight will be performances by two international ballroom dancing champions; a fund-raising dinner and a 4km walk.

MBS is also organising a vertical marathon called Race to the Sky that will see corporate teams scale the 57 floors of its hotel tower up to the SkyPark Observation Deck.

Like last year, MBS will also donate all proceeds from four main attractions - the ArtScience Museum, the Sampan River, the SkyPark Observation Deck and the Skating Rink - to the Community Chest. This will be done over all three days of the festival, up from two days last year. Some of the funds last year also went to social service programmes for children with special needs; youth-at-risk; adults with disabilities; vulnerable families; and the elderly.

One of the beneficiaries is 19-year-old Neo Yong Tai, who received counselling and mentoring from Youth Guidance Outreach Services, a youth agency supported by the Community Chest. He used to have poor attendance in school and a strained relationship with his parents but is now getting good grades at the polytechnic and is on good terms with his parents.

He said: "I am thankful for the help and now I am using my experience to mentor other youth who face similar issues."

jantai@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on June 2, 2014.
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