Hong Kong, 3 November 2021 – The annual “Operation Santa Claus” (OSC) campaign, jointly organised by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and South China Morning Post (SCMP), kicked off today (November 3) at Broadcast Drive announcing 18 beneficiaries for this year’s fundraising drive, and a performing arts initiative aimed at engaging and revitalising disadvantaged communities in Hong Kong.
The Financial Secretary Paul CHAN Mo-po, Director of Broadcasting Patrick LI Pak-chuen, the South China Morning Post’s CEO Gary LIU and the composer of the OSC theme song Harry NG graced the ceremony. They were joined by OSC 2021 ambassadors, award-winning actress Crisel CONSUNJI, singer and actress Kandy WONG and artiste Pakho CHAU, who will be supporting the fundraising campaign for his third consecutive year. Other guests included representatives from beneficiaries and donors.
In line with this year’s ‘performing arts’ theme, the ceremony featured performances by WONG, who sang the OSC theme song “Caring Christmas” and CONSUNJI who performed two classical songs “Colours of the Wind” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade”. The young Australian guitar duo, Saxon and Jarvis Whittaker, also surprised guests with a rendition of “Hungarian Rhapsody”.
Eighteen charities were selected as the beneficiaries for this year’s fundraising drive, including NGOs and causes serving children and youths, the elderly and individuals with physical and mental disabilities. As part of this year’s campaign, five local artists have minted NFTs to raise funds for OSC 2021. These new works by a diverse range of creators demonstrate the artistic energy and will be auctioned on crypto art marketplace. To encourage active participation from supporting groups, the most outstanding supporters of the OSC will be recognised at the end of the campaign with special awards for categories including “Top Corporate Fundraiser”, “Top School Fundraiser”, “Most Creative Fundraiser”, and “Most Creative School”. The award list will be announced during the closing ceremony of OSC in January 2022.
The ceremony was hosted by RTHK R3 DJ Alyson HAU and was broadcast live on the RTHK Radio 3 YouTube Channel (youtube.com/c/Radio3RTHK3) and ”Operation Santa Claus HK 愛心聖誕大行動” Facebook page (facebook.com/opsantahk/). For more information about the OSC campaign, please visit the OSC website (oschk.org) as well as “Operation Santa Claus HK 愛心聖誕大行動” Facebook page.
About Operation Santa Claus
Operation Santa Claus (OSC) is an annual charity campaign jointly run by RTHK and SCMP. Established in 1988, OSC aims to make a difference to the community and beyond by combining the fundraising power of two of the city’s most respected media organisations. Mainly during the months of November and December every year, the public, various non-profit making organisations, commercials and educational sectors in Hong Kong demonstrate their compassion by organising creative fundraising initiatives for specially selected deserving causes.
ABOUT SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
The South China Morning Post is a leading global news company that has reported on China and Asia for more than a century. Founded in 1903, SCMP is headquartered in Hong Kong, where it is the city’s newspaper of record, with a growing correspondent staff across Asia and the United States. SCMP’s vision is to “Elevate Thought” and our mission is to “Lead the global conversation about China”. It is the recipient of hundreds of awards for its journalistic excellence, from such prestigious organisations as the World Association of News Publishers and the Online News Association. A digital-first media organisation, SCMP is also home to Goldthread, a content platform with a focus on food, travel and culture in China, and publishes a portfolio of premium lifestyle and fashion titles in Hong Kong including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Esquire and Harper’s BAZAAR. In 2020, SCMP became the first news organisation in Asia to join the Trust Project, a consortium of top news companies developing global transparency standards for credible journalism.
For further information, please contact:
Stef Lo
stef.lo@scmp.com