KUCHING, April 20: HSL’s new La Promenade Mall will house six charities by providing nearly 10,000 square feet rental-free valued at about RM18,000 a month.
These charities include Hope Place, Bodhi Counselling Centre, Sarawak Women for Women Society, Helping Hands Penan and the Intellectually Disabled Adults Society.
Hock Seng Lee (HSL) is also sponsoring fit-out and renovation for all the charities, totalling RM350,000.
“We believe having these charities in a mall, in a public space, will gain them significant public exposure and vice versa. Traditionally, charities are housed in their own premises and this limits their potential to engage with the public.
“In this mall, there will be much greater and easier exposure to mall shoppers and visitors. There are many ways to do corporate social responsibility. A company can donate cash and kind, but it can also donate its expertise and contribute products. These are all our aims,” said senior corporate communications manager Jennifer Tang in a statement today.
Fit-out has begun for the first charity lot for Kuching-based non-governmental body called Hope Place, which will operate a “Human Resource and Leadership Centre” on the mall’s fourth floor.
This will be the fourth collaboration between HSL and Hope Place.
HSL has been a regular sponsor of Hope Place’s food aid programme. The construction specialist has contributed to the NGO’s house rebuilding programme. Over the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, HSL’s marketing team created a fundraising video for Hope Place.
HSL is also sponsoring two shop lots at Eden Centre at Mile 12 for Hope Place to build its second Kedai Bajet.
“We like to work with Hope Place because of the important work this charity does every day. Hope Place raises a huge amount of funds for the poor, distributing food to society’s most needy, and recently, it has been contributing necessities to areas placed under EMCO,” HSL senior leasing manager Trish Lui said.
Hope Place intends to use the centre at La Promenade to provide training for volunteers and the under- privileged.
“We want to train and empower the next generation of community workers. We also want to help the poor help themselves. After their training, we hope they can embrace challenges in life.
“We hope to see this centre as a melting pot where anyone who walks in feel secure here, where they are valued as who they are, and where they will be given a fair chance to learn and grow. It is a place of empowerment.
“In addition, this place will serve as another information centre on our work. The public may also drop off donations here,” said Hope Place president Chong Hai Eng.
La Promenade Mall is part of the 10-storey HSL Tower complex. Both mall and office blocks are built according to the latest Green Building Index standards.
The mall opened this Jan with ground floor food and beverage retailers. It has over 1,000 free carparks and free electric car charging stations, and is located prominently along the Kuching-Samarahan Expressway.
HSL’s CSR programme themed “Healthy Bodies, Happy Minds” is operated jointly by the Human Resources and Corporate Communications Departments. — DayakDaily
