As Day Two of WIT 2017 came to a close, the WIT Charity Auction successfully raised over S$34,000 for this year’s charity of choice, the Negrense Volunteers for Change (NVC) Foundation in the Philippines.
The NVC Foundation is a charity organisation based on nutrition and education for the poor. Their Art for Good programme is designed to support the Talaandig tribe in a remote mountain region of the Philippines.
The community’s home was described as “extremely beautiful but it hides extreme poverty,” by Therese Ng, a trustee of the foundation present at WIT. The money raised will go towards feeding over 150 children daily, to pull them out of a state of malnutrition.
“It won’t be an anonymous drop in a bucket, you’ll be giving to a place with names and faces. We look forward to providing reports on how your help will change the lives of these people.”
The ever-charismatic Louise Daley (Deputy CEO, AccorHotels APAC) took charge of the bidding, helping to raise over double the foundation’s original target amount.
Most eyes (and wallets) were directed at the feature item – 5 hours mentoring time with co-founder of Tujia, Melissa Yang. The live audience had to compete with both online and phone bidders until ultimately one winner prevailed, with a winning bid of US$12,000.
The audience also battled over a series of luxury getaways, like:
- A 2-night stay at Cempedak Island
- A 2- night stay at The Murray, Hong Kong, A Niccolo Hotel (MarcoPolo Hotels) plus 2 nights at Marco Polo Ortigas, Manila
- A 5-night Genting Dream cruise from Singapore to Malaysia and Thailand
- A Uniworld Boutique River Cruise
- As well as digital artwork created by WIT 2017’s artist in residence, Vespa vintage sidecar tours and a private dining experience.
