Seasons Greetings From Immerqi| 4 min read
Kirsty Armstrong, leader of ImmerQi’s CSR team and Volunteer Program China, organised several wonderful & meaningful activities this year in an attempt to instill a little Christmas spirit and help the larger community at the same time!
Kirsty nominated two NGOs that ImmerQi currently partners with. These two NGOs became the focus of ImmerQi staffs’ philanthropic efforts. One of them is a foster home for blind and visually impaired children, the other a home and learning center for disadvantaged children.
Preparations for the projects began as early as November. ImmerQi staff, prompted by the very handsome Santa Clause (James Joyce) and Rudolph (Reece Ayers), were encouraged to donate money towards the causes. The money donated would help pay for the small gifts that would fill the Christmas boxes. In total, ImmerQi staff in the Beijing office donated over 1,200RMB, a significant amount that would go a long way towards making some disadvantaged children very happy!
After collecting the money, the CSR team went in search of appropriate gifts for the children. Pens, colouring books, socks and candies are just a few examples of the useful gifts included.
Now that the presents were ready, we needed something to put them in! One Friday afternoon in Decemeber, ImmerQi staff gathered in the break room to enjoy a selection of festive treats prepared by various members of staff and craft some Christmas boxes to transport the gifts in.
Staff spent hours working on their boxes, beautifying them with ribbons and wrapping paper, glitter and stickers! With Band Aid playing in the background, and a healthy supply of gingerbread cookies, everyone was really feeling the spirit of Christmas.
Staff worked together (some more successfully than others) to create 15 beautiful gift boxes.
Now that the boxes had been decorated and filled with gifts, the only thing left to do was to deliver them to the children! Leaving the office soon after lunch, the CSR team ventured far to the north of Beijing to visit the childrens home.
Upon entering the facility, we were greeted by a sea of smiling faces. The children, ranging from 6 year olds to teenagers, were very excited to have some Christmas visitors. After some brief introductions and a lesson on how to say ‘Merry Christmas’, the CSR team began distributing the gift boxes, much to the delight of the children.
Seeing those kids’ faces light up as they opened their presents – possibly the first they’ve ever received – was magical; really bringing home the true meaning of Christmas – spending time together and caring about one another.Some of the children leapt straight in, devouring their candy and playing with their toys. Others were more inclined to savour the moment, carefully inspecting and fully appreciating each gift.
Next, we taught the children a classic Christmas carol – ‘Jingle Bells’. Singing in high spirits, the children were elated by the jolly tune. Still with some time to spare, we decided to play a few games with the kids. Kirsty lead them in a counting game and I introduced them to the game ‘Splat’, which required concentration and quick reactions!
A word from the founder of the charity:
“The motivation of our founding institutions is very simple, we just hope that this group of vulnerable children, though born with some defects, are treated equally in society.”
In addition to the gift box project, ImmerQi’s chairman also donated 5000RMB to the foster home for blind & visually impaired children. This money was spent on useful items such as winter clothing.
It feels very good to be a part of such an amazing company, who do amazing things for the people who are in need. CEO Alan said that the greatest gift of life is “The ability to help others” – he couldn’t be more right.
Seasons greetings from the ImmerQi Family!