Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree competition
MANILA, Philippines – It’s my first time to celebrate Christmas here in the Philippines,” says Canon CEO Alan Chng who is Singaporean, “but I know it’s going to be big.”
In Manila, the Christmas season begins on September first, when playing Christmas carols on the airwaves and mall radio is no longer verboten.
To celebrate the biggest holiday of the year, a Christmas tree contest, hosted by Dusit Thani Hotel, launched last Thursday.
With the theme “Unity in Diversity,” the hotel tapped 13 individuals and companies to design their own Christmas tree, scheduled to be exhibited starting Nov. 15 until Jan. 3. “To make things more exciting, we decided to make it a contest,” says Dusit GM Prateek Kumar. “The winning party gets P100,000 to be donated to a charity or cause of their choice.”
To vote, a Facebook album with all 13 entries will be posted and anyone can simply “like“ the tree of their choosing. (For non-Facebook users, clicking the like button guarantees each party a vote.) “You can only ‘like’ a photo once,” says Kumar, “so we think it’s a fair way to hold the vote.”
High on the list of charities are women’s shelters. Celine Lopez, who has been supporting the Coalition Against Trafficking of Women (CATW) since its inception, will be putting her potential winnings in the organization’s pocket. Tahanan Santa Luisa, a home for sexually and physically abused girls, is the beneficiary of HSBC should they take home the prize.
“The home offers shelter and counseling for girls between 11 and 17 years old,” says HSBC group communications SVP Johanna Garcia. “A lot of these girls have been raped or were prostitutes. They’ve lived under harrowing conditions for most of their lives and this home gives them hope, while teaching them practical skills to give them a future.”
Education is a priority for institutions like Lyceum and School of Fashion and the Arts (SoFA). SoFa intends to put the money into their scholarship program, which takes in two students a year. Lyceum president Roberto Laurel thinks the money would be put to good use either in their scholarship program or the school’s outreach measures. “It’s purely voluntary,” Laurel says of the program. “Our staff and students make time to reach out to the members of the barangays and teach them trade skills they can use.”
Thai Airways GM Nivat Chantarachoti intends to send his potential prize money Bantay Bata’s way, while Tim Yap, credited with coming up with the whole idea for the tree-off, plans to support Virlanie, the home for abused kids.
One of his ideas for dressing up the tree is to dress it up with rag dolls. “So I can give it to the kids after,” he says.
“A tree should be special,” says Yap. “You shouldn’t just head to 168 and buy generic Christmas balls to make it look like any other tree.”
What’s his tree at home going to look like then?
“Real balls of guys,” he quips, “just like Lady Gaga’s meat dress.”
Dusit Thani’s plans on continuing their support of Operation Smile, while Canon plans to carry on their relationship with Kythe, a support group for underprivileged children struck with disease.
“This will be our third project with them, should we win,” says CEO Chng. Their first project involved a plane trip after Kythe volunteers discovered that many of the kids wished to fly for the first time.
Canon’s theme for the tree centers on theme they’ve dubbed “Smile.” “Since our products always bring a smile to people’s faces,” says Chng.
“Christmas is usually so stressful,” adds Lyceum’s Laurel, “but the stress falls away when you see how happy people are when they’re celebrating the season.”
