Christmas is a time of completeness, when far-flung families and friends come together to share gifts and food.
That was the feeling last week at Barclays' annual Christmas party, when employees' children took on the challenge of piecing together a mural inspired by Hong Kong's vibrant sights and sounds.
In its seventh year of supporting Operation Santa Claus (OSC), investment giant Barclays went all out to generate fun and fund-raising efforts to support the needy.
Robert Morrice, chairman and chief executive of Barclays Asia-Pacific, said: 'We've grown significantly in Hong Kong over the last three or four years. We now have 1,100 people here, and obviously with that position in Hong Kong, we have to give more back to local society.'
The gloomy economic outlook has not dampened the company's enthusiasm for the work. 'Especially in this economic climate, it's not always easy to raise money for good causes,' Morrice said. 'What we've seen so far in the last three or four weeks is a real drive by staff to ensure that we are supporting the local community as we should.'
Barclays has raised HK$667,271 for OSC this year, including HK$620,000 that Morrice presented to OSC with a cheque on Friday.
'Operation Santa Claus is such an integral part of Christmas in Hong Kong now. It has now got the full backing of Hong Kong, people look for it every day to see how well it's doing. We feel that it's well run and the money is going to the right places,' Morrice said.