Thistle Hotel Johor Bahru is the first member hotel under the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Johor Chapter to contribute 200 packs of food to NGO, Ihsan Johor, an Iskandar Malaysia Social Hero Awards (IMSHA) recipient, and marking the first CSR collaboration with the Social Hero Foundation (SHF) to help feed the needy in Johor. The initiative will take place over 6 months, to end in December 2024, where 15 hotels will participate.
“Lunch packs will involve distribution to the disabled, single mothers, elderly, orphaned, homeless, remote Orang Asli community, and the urban poor below the Poverty Line Index concentrated in areas spread over Johor Bahru. Each participating hotel will prepare at least 200 packs of food on every Saturday in a month, for 6 months,” said Ivan Teo, Chairman of MAH Johor Chapter.
Several NGOs under the umbrella of the SHF namely Free Market Johor, Society of St Vincent de Paul, Green Earth Society, Yayasan Suria Johor Bahru, Ihsan Johor, Pekekal, and 448 Food Bank will assist with the collection of lunch packs from the 15 hotels and distribute them to several geographical areas spread over the city, identified as critical locations for the needy.
“We are delighted to kickstart this collaboration with the hotels in Johor, which will forge a solidarity, touching lives one meal at a time ensuring a ripple effect of hope and sustenance across Johor Bahru,” said Datuk Seri Teo Shiok Fu, a trustee of SHF.
5,200 lunch packs have been committed by hotels to-date. Hotels that have responded to the call are Millesime Hotel, Sunway Big Box Hotel, New York Hotel, Somerset Medini Iskandar Puteri, Grand Paragon Hotel, Ponderosa Golf & Country Resort, Capri by Fraser, Good Hope Hotel, Ramada Meridin Hotel, LEGOLAND Hotel, DoubleTree by Hilton, Fraser Place Puteri Harbour, Impiana Hotel Senai, and Hyatt Place. More hotels are expected to join in the initiative.
Besides handing over the lunch packs to Ihsan Johor, the staff of Thistle Hotel also accompanied the volunteers to visit the homes of the needy.
MAH Johor Chapter is no stranger to supporting food banks over the years, having assisted Kechara Soup Kitchen, as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic, and disasters that had impacted Johor in the past.
