13th Dec 2012, by Timothy Tai-
For those of you living in the Klang Valley, here’s a ‘heavenly’ opportunity that only comes around once a year. For the next 10 days, you can get your Christmas gifts wrapped for free AND make a difference in an orphan’s life at the same time.
How? Just head on over to ‘the Heavenly Gift’ booths in Tropicana City Mall or IOI Mall the next time you’re out shopping. Whilst the lovely people manning the booths happily wrap your presents, take some time to check out the Christmas tree next to the booth. You’ll find that it’s a Christmas tree unlike any other because it hasn’t been decorated with just the usual ornaments and bows. More significantly, you’ll see that it is full of wish-cards of children from various orphanages and shelters throughout Klang Valley.
While many of our wish-lists would include things like the iPhone 5 or the new iPad mini, there are none of these items on any of the children’s wish-cards. A closer look at their profiles reveals that all they want for Christmas are simple things like Barbie dolls, toy cars and new pairs of shoes.
For example, a 12 year old from one of the shelters wrote this on his wish card: “All I want for Christmas is a new set of drawing stationery so that I can draw.”
Elsewhere, a 9 year old boy wrote, “Can I have a hotwheel car for Christmas?” while another wish-card reads: “All I want for this Christmas is a bottle of perfume so that I can smell nice all day.”
One of the wish-cards that stuck out to me the most belonged to a 9 year old girl who said, “I want to look pretty. Can I have a new makeup toy this Christmas?”
Should you decide to make one of the children’s wishes come true this Christmas, all you have to do is pick the child’s wish-card from the tree and pay for his/her gift. The people at the Heavenly Gift will then fulfill that child’s gift request on your behalf. Alternatively, you can choose to feed a poor family by contributing towards or sponsoring a month’s worth of groceries.
But wait, that’s not all. For those of you who are looking for an opportunity to give back to the community with your time and abilities instead, you’ll also have the chance to sign up as a volunteer for other ongoing events by Community at Heart (the non-profit organization responsible for starting the Heavenly Gift project). One of the aims of the Heavenly Gift is to not just to raise awareness of the needs of the community around us, but to provide a platform for people to help meet those needs.
However you want to help, don’t take too long to decide because the Heavenly Gift booths will only be at the following locations until 23rd December 2012:
- Tropicana City Mall (Petaling Jaya) – At the Main Atrium on the ground floor (next to Coffee Bean)
- IOI Mall (Puchong) – At the ground floor of the new wing (next to TGI Friday’s)
For more information or enquiries, please contact Community at Heart at +603-80765354 or email them at enquiry@communityatheart.info.
Dear Viewers in Christ, if you find this article edifying to you, please share with your friends or loved ones by using the social media plugs (Share, Email to this article). The Lord will surely bless you as you bless others. May the Lord’s peace and love be with you. Amen.
Note: Timothy grew up in Kuching and worked in KL before jumping off the corporate ladder in 2006. He moved to New York City where he served at an inner-city kids ministry for almost 6 years. He has since returned to KL and has just married his Irish fiancee Sarah.
References for pictures:
http://cloud3.faout.com/uploads/201210/heditor/201210101733163675.jpg
https://d13uygpm1enfng.cloudfront.net/article-imgs/en/2012/07/23/AJ201207230092/AJ201207230093M.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qsCeI1pbO4U/Tt12O_0-rlI/AAAAAAAAGoQ/Qxuitv_7QZs/s1600/Groceries.jpg
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