The Social Hero Foundation (SHF) had launched its first fund-raising campaign with the SHF Walk for Health & Environment on 9th December 2023, offering participants a choice of a 3 km or 5 km route beginning at the Pejabat MBJB Jalan Dato’ Onn in Johor Bahru’s city centre.
Jointly organised in collaboration with Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru (MBJB) during the MBJB’s JB Car Free Morning programme taking place on Saturdays, the main roads in the JB city centre, from Jalan Ibrahim, Jalan Wong Ah Fook, and Jalan Ayer Molek, were closed to vehicle traffic from 6.45 am to 9 am. As part of the MBJB’s JB Car Free Morning programme, there were pre-and-post Walk activities for families, especially children, to join and enjoy.
The free for all event was flagged by the representatives of the JB City Mayor, MBJB’s Secretary, Haji Miswan Bin Yunus, SHF Trustee, Datuk Seri Teo Shiok Fu JP, and Thanam Visvanathan-Suresh, also Chairman of the Iskandar Malaysia Social Hero Awards (IMSHA).
Despite the fact that an estimated 500 people registered for the walk in order to receive a certificate of participation, the 1000 bread packets distributed to participants were all consumed. Participants were also given water and apples.
Other than its main target of encouraging people to bring their families and friends to walk together to promote personal and family health, SHF Walk also hoped to raise environmental awareness during the MBJB’s JB Car Free Morning initiative. Participants also received a SHF environment-friendly badge that can be planted to grow into a basil plant.
The sponsorships and donations received from the SHF Walk for Health & Environment has launched the fund-raising campaign to raise funds for SHF’s three proposed social and environmental impact projects in 2024, namely:
Feeding the homeless and needy in Johor Bahru – Engaging single mothers to cook well-balanced meals to distribute to the targeted homeless and needy groups.
Coral restoration project in Mersing – Corals help clean pollution from the sea and promote the growth of the fish population, which will help local fishermen’s livelihoods and ensure our future food security.
Tree planting and flood preparation workshops to be held in three Johor flood prone districts
“These projects will have a meaningful impact on our entire community and can be expanded further once launched,” said SHF.
“SHF plans to carry out these projects together with our IMSHA Social Hero Award winners, our major sponsors and donors, and relevant government agencies. Together, we can make a difference in the community.”
SHF is set to organise the 7th annual Iskandar Malaysia Social Hero Awards (IMSHA) in 2024, which identify and recognise the CSOs (civil society organisations), NGOs (Non-Governmental organisations), and NGIs (Non-Governmental individuals) who have been nominated by the public in 11 categories for their selfless contributions to the community and society in Johor.
From 2014 to 2019, IMSHA, in collaboration with the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), received 1,410 public nominations, resulting in 120 Social Hero Award winners, comprised of 60 NGOs and 60 NGIs. The United Nations has designated IMSHA as a “Good Practice Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Award Provider in Malaysia.”
SHF is a non-profit foundation established in 2019 under the Trustee (Incorporation) Act 1952, which is overseen by the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Department. Donations to SHF are tax-deductible as a tax-exempt organisation under Section 44(6) of the Income Tax Act of 1967.
The main goals of SHF are to provide effective assistance to needy and underprivileged communities in Johor, to promote national unity among all races, and to raise awareness about the environment and sustainability.
SHF’s key strategic thrusts are education empowerment, general equality and social inclusion, humanitarianism, health and wellbeing, and environmental sustainability.
“SHF would like to thank all our SHF Walk sponsors and donors for their donations and support, namely Platinum Sponsor Balmar Holdings Pte Ltd, Silver Sponsors AME and Chiam AL, and Bronze Sponsors Pesekutuan Tiong-hua Johor Bahru, Foh Chong Group, Tak Properties Sdn. Bhd., and Microtronics Technology Sdn. Bhd.”
“SHF would also like to thank Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru (MBJB), the government agencies, our IMSHA Social Hero Award winners, our SHF Walk partners, and our media friends for their help, cooperation, and support for the SHF Walk for Health and Environment.”
For more information on SHF’s community service projects or to make a donation to SHF, please email Farrah at socialheroawards@gmail.com.
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