Students' auspicious design a fortunate fund-raiser
City University team's project a winner on campus
Gold is wealth; red symbolises love; purple represents academic achievements; green means friendship; and silver is the sign of health.
Buy a 'fortune bag' containing one of these coloured beads to try your luck for the day - this is the idea designed by a group of students at City University.
The eight first-year students, all design majors at the Community College, are selling their fortune bags on campus in aid of Operation Santa Claus.
Despite the busy exam season, they volunteered to run a fund-raising project at a suggestion of their teacher, Grace Lau Kwan-bick, to help local charities.
Ms Lau, senior lecturer in language studies, said: 'My intention is to make the students aware that design is not only related to commercial things. It can also contribute to something more meaningful.'
From planning and purchasing the materials to packaging the items and setting up the booths, everything was done by the group of eight, who aimed to raise HK$5,000 over a four-day sale at the university's campuses in Kowloon Tong and Kowloon Bay.
The fortune bags, each containing a coloured bead, candies and a fortune note, are HK$5 each. They have turned out to be quite popular among fellow students.
Self-made cartoon bookmarks, lucky balls and Christmas decorations were also sold at the booths.
Rock So Yat-man, 18, said he learned the importance of time management and teamwork from the project.
'At the busiest time, I slept less than three hours every day to work on Operation Santa Claus and several other projects. Fortunately, we made it,' said Mr So, who left his 'signature' - a cartoon of himself - on the covers of some of the bags.
'Operation Santa Claus is different from other projects. We are not doing it for ourselves, but to help more people. There's more responsibility in it.'
Friend Etina Lam Yee-ting, 20, was quite proud of their idea for the fortune bag, which fitted in well with the exam season.
'Many students picked fortune bags and some were even willing to contribute' well beyond the HK$5 each bag cost, she said.
Meanwhile, Ms Lau plans to work with other colleagues and students to launch an NGO, called Who Cares, to provide professional design services to local charities.
The NGO's first 'client' is the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children. It will help the group with the branding, logo design and production of communication and marketing material early next year - all for free.
'What we are doing is all reflected by our name,' Ms Lau said. 'We are the ones who care about those who are caring for others.'
