Nanyang MBA Students donate to Singapore Special Olympics

Nanyang MBA Students donate to Singapore Special Olympics

Student leaders of The NANYANG MBA handed over a cheque donation of S$11,000 to Singapore Special Olympics, represented by the association’s President, Teo-Koh Sock Miang. The donation was a result of a charity drive, “2012 Nanyang MBA Olympics” jointly organised by the school’s MBA students Corporate Social Responsibility Club (CSR) and the Women in Business Club (WIB).


Spearheaded by four student leaders, Eric Oandasan (from the Philippines, CSR Club Co-Chair), Nyan Kyaw (from Myanmar, CSR Club Co-Chair), Filda Yusgiantoro (from Indonesia, WIB Co-Chair) and Clarie Kwa (from Singapore, WIB Co-Chair), the charity event obtained fervent support from The NANYANG MBA, and corporations and foundations from the region. Sponsors include Tanoto Foundation, Lee Foundation, Iwan Tirta Foundation, Singapore Press Holdings Foundation, and companies such as Suntory, OSIM, Adidas, GNC, Ice Cool and IBM.

The NANYANG MBA Olympics, first held in 2011 by The NANYANG MBA CSR club, aims to build camaraderie among MBAs in Singapore  and more importantly, to raise funds for a social cause. In its 2nd year, the event has grown to attract more participation from MBA students and sponsors alike, with the WIB club lending its experience in fund raising and events management. In keeping with the 2012 London Olympics theme, the organizers chose Singapore Special Olympics as the beneficiary. The NANYANG MBA strives to bring this “Olympics” to a bigger stage by inviting MBA students from the rest of Asia in the future.

Teo-Koh Sock Miang, President of The Special Olympics, a voluntary organization for people who have intellectual disabilities, says “The Special Olympics is very grateful to The NANYANG MBA CSR club as well as the WIB club for coming together and doing this project to raise funds for the Special Olympics Singapore.  The funds raised will allow our athletes to have training opportunities, to have competition opportunities and will also help provide for facilities and coaching.  And definitely, The NANYANG MBA students have come through for us.  We thank them so much.”

“Eric and I are thankful to all fellow MBA cohort, MBA students from NUS, SMU, INSEAD and ESSEC, and our generous sponsors, without whose help we could not have organised this event,” says Nyan. “Special thanks also to WIB for volunteering to co-organise this event.  Although this cheque handing ceremony marks the closure of the 2012 Nanyang MBA Olympics, we hope this will be a tradition that will continue for years to come. We are also grateful for the opportunity we had in meeting the kids of Singapore Special Olympics. Their enthusiasm in life really puts a smile on our faces, despite our embarrassing loss to them in the exhibition futsal match."

Filda and Clarie add on, “We like to commend The NANYANG MBA students who stepped up to volunteer in making the event successful. No matter how mundane the jobs were, such as forming assembly lines to prepare the goodie bags and handling registration, no matter how smart they are in school and successful at work, our fellow volunteers were very attentive to the needs of the participants and beneficiaries. This is the servitude we hope to see in MBA students who are also the future leaders of the society. We are, indeed, very happy to see that our charity drive has made a good difference for everyone involved.”

Read more about The NANYANG MBA Olympics in the blog. 
View photos in the flickr site.