Schools are encouraged to take part in the 17th Operation Santa Claus - an annual charity campaign that strives to make dreams come true for Hong Kong's needy.
Jointly organised by the South China Morning Post and RTHK, the theme of this year's campaign is: 'The race for hope - 30 days to make a difference.' It will target medical conditions, and help sufferers and those who treat and care for them.
Like last year, 12 local charities have been chosen as beneficiaries of Operation Santa Claus. They will be announced in the SCMP in the coming month. School participation is considered a vital part of Operation Santa Claus. While donations can come in the form of money, goods or services needed by the charities, the organisers encourage schools to actively get their students involved by holding creative and fun fund-raising events, such as art auctions, Christmas card auctions and school fairs.
An example is Island School, whose students have organised a series of fund-raising activities.
'Our aim for this year is to come up with more intricate charity events,' said Year 12 student organiser Amanda Ng.
'Not only are we targeting students, but we would also like to get parents and perhaps teachers involved. We are planning to sell popcorn as well as cookies and cakes by setting up a candy stall at school since our tuck shops don't sell sweets any more. We will also have a dress casual day.'
Starting this week, there will be a movie marathon after school. 'Instead of playing one movie, like we did previously, we are going to play movies by genre every Friday if there's no other event going on,' Amanda said.
