Students at American International School (AIS) got into the spirit of giving on a warm Friday ahead of Christmas as they wore casual wear to raise funds for charity.
Those who had donated at least HK$20 (US$2.57) wore clothes of their choice to school on December 13, with proceeds going to Operation Santa Claus (OSC), an annual fundraising initiative by the South China Morning Post and public broadcaster RTHK.
It was one of the school’s monthly “Charitable Free Dress Days”. The one in December each year is dedicated to OSC, which is currently funding 11 projects of worthy causes, having raised HK$383 million for 353 charitable projects since its launch in 1988.
“Today’s activity is instilling a culture of caring and generosity … giving is always important,” said AIS high school principal Andy Ris, adding that the event helped drive home the school’s core values of justice, knowledge and love.
OSC had provided the school with information about campaign beneficiaries, enabling students to “learn the different challenges everyone faces and do something with that knowledge”, Ris said, explaining that student donations were an act of love and pursuit of justice.
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“It is an important component of love – to love each other and even those you don’t know. Justice means that within our world, everyone deserves happiness, security and health,” he added.
AIS middle and high school assistant principal Meghan Robertson said students took the lead in promoting the activity, allowing them to develop valuable skills.
“We encourage students to take on that leadership and advocacy role,” she said.
Located in Kowloon Tong, AIS’s early childhood, elementary, middle and high schools have students from 30 nationalities. It has supported OSC since 2006.
The charity campaign’s current tagline, #EveryoneCanBeASantaClaus, struck a chord with AIS students.
“Let us be our own Santa Claus to the underprivileged,” said Grade 11 student Sahil Gandhi.
“Although some kids might not be able to have the same experiences that we slightly more privileged students do, we are still able to do our bit and give to them, and it means the world to them. Just that little bit of extra donation really makes them happy,” he added.
“Through participation in this activity, I learned that it is good to give back to the community.”
The sentiment was shared by Grade 12 student Anusha Mahajan.
“We are privileged to be at the school celebrating Christmas, but not everyone has the opportunity. Being able to donate money is one way of being like Santa Claus,” she said. “It’s just a good feeling to know that my money is going to someone who needs it.”
