18 May 2008

Singapore, 18 May 2008 – Nickelodeon and StarHub have teamed up to celebrate the birthdays of 200 underprivileged children today at the National Library Plaza at Victoria Street. The children, aged five to ten, are from more than ten organisations, including the Kampong Kapor, Pasir Ris, PPIS Jurong, Sembawang and Whispering Hearts Family Service Centres, Students Care Service (Yishun Centre), Ramakrishna Mission Boys' Home, Children Aid Society, SBL Vision Student Care Centre, Down Syndrome Association and the National Library Board’s (NLB) KidsREAD programme.

The two-hour celebration, centred around a ‘pirate adventure’ theme, was held this afternoon. Children who attended the party with their parents were treated to delicious goodies, including a giant birthday cake, and were invited to join the host of the party on an interactive ‘pirate adventure’!

Ms Jeannie Ong, StarHub’s Head of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations explained StarHub’s rationale for embarking on the birthday project with Nickelodeon, “We strongly believe that every kid deserves the chance to revel in the joys of being a child – the joy of learning through play, the joy of celebrating with their loved ones, and especially the joy of having a birthday party with lots of balloons and cake. These are simple joys that many children take for granted, whilst the children from the less privileged families do not have enough of. Through today's party where we celebrate the birthday of 200 kids whose birthdays fall in this quarter, we hope to share the joy with them and their families.”

Ms Ong added, “Nickelodeon is one of the world’s leading entertainment brands for kids, and StarHub’s valued content partner. Working with Nickelodeon on a celebratory party for children was a natural choice for us as we could count on Nickelodeon’s expertise at developing entertainment that kids love.”

In line with StarHub’s Corporate Volunteerism initiatives, 20 StarHub employees volunteered their time to assist with the celebrations on Sunday by facilitating the activities for the children.

Ms Anne Loy, StarHub’s Customer Service Team Leader who volunteered for the event and assisted a group of children with making their ‘pirate flags and hats’, said, “As a parent of two young children, I understand how much children love parties. I am glad that I have been able to help out in some small way, and share in the joy of the parents and children present here today.”

NLB is the official venue sponsor of the event. NLB’s Mobile Library, Molly, which reaches out to underserved and disadvantaged children, also joined in the fun at the party. Children at the party visited Molly after the celebrations and were encouraged to borrow great reads for kids.

‘Dora’s Pirate Adventure Live Show’, featuring Nickelodeon’s lovable Dora the Explorer character takes place from 24 May to 1 June 2008 at Singapore Expo, Hall 2. StarHub will air ‘Dora’s Pirate Adventure TV Movie Special’ on Nickelodeon (Channel 32) on 19 May 2008 at 8am.

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