Mercedes-Benz Malaysia rings in the festive cheer with its 10th Edition of Christmas in a Shoebox

9th December 2019 – Mercedes-Benz Malaysia (MBM), the leading premium lifestyle brand, brought the Christmas celebrations forward and embraced the spirit of giving through its annual social initiative; ‘Christmas in a Shoebox’.

Employees, senior management and Datuk Nicol David, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s brand ambassador, came together to treat over 40 children of Yayasan Sunbeams Home to an early Christmas celebration filled with goodies, festive treats and enjoyable activities.

“Community responsibilities begin at a local level and we are proud to proactively contribute towards the needs of Malaysians in various significant ways. This annual initiative remains a key ingredient in building a positive corporate culture and allows us to share the festive cheer with the children of Yayasan Sunbeams Home. With our longstanding affair as the founding members of klpac, we were also able to showcase our support toward the local art scene by organizing mini drama and dance workshops to inspire positive character building through skillset development amongst the children,” said Dr. Claus Weidner, President & CEO of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia.

‘Christmas in a Shoebox’ sets out to fulfill Christmas wishes of a charitable organization with each MBM employee contributing to a select wish list in order to make the children’s wishes come true. The celebrations this year went beyond the bounds of just gifting, and included a speech and drama workshop organized by klpac to create an even more meaningful interaction with the children. The workshop also aimed to foster team spirit, build individual skillsets and encouraged creativity and talent development.

MBM employees gave the children a good morning surprise by picking them up from their home in Ampang and chauffeuring them to the grounds of the celebration in various Mercedes-Benz models. The program began with a picnic lunch to provide the children with an opportunity to experience relaxing outdoor spaces, and activity which allows children to naturally come out of their shells and be more social.

With the special appearance of Datuk Nicol David, the children got the opportunity to meet the world ranked female Malaysian professional squash player. Datuk Nicol David took center stage to share her inspiring journey representing Malaysia in squash and continued the jovial atmosphere by getting the children to participate in a simple ball accuracy game, gathering cheers all around the room.

The children were then brought to participate in a half-day speech and drama workshop, led by the Actors Studio Academy @ klpac. The workshop gave the children a chance to express themselves freely by recalling and sharing their best Christmas moments, performing Christmas carols and grooving to the familiar Christmas tunes.

Keeping the atmosphere of the festivities high, Michael Jopp, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, made a surprise appearance as Santa Claus, bearing gifts which were handed out to the children individually.  

MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2019

AUTOMOTIVE

“A huge thank you goes out to Mercedes-Benz Malaysia for organizing an early Christmas celebration for our children. All the activities put together for us has brought so much joy to the children and has certainly allowed them to have an unforgettable celebration with the Mercedes-Benz family and a brand they have immense adoration for,” said Pastor Alvin Tan, Chairman and Founder of Yayasan Sunbeams home.

The event concluded with children of Yayasan Sunbeams Homes brimming with smiles after a day filled with fun and learning unlike any other. MBM’s ‘Christmas in a Shoebox’ is an annual initiative and has reached over 6,000 children since its inception.

• Mercedes-Benz hosted over 40 children from Yayasan Sunbeams Homes to an early Christmas celebration.

• The program included workshops organized by The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac) to inspire positive character building among the children.

• Datuk Nicol David, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s brand ambassador made a special appearance during the celebration.