4 minute read
A Meaningful Christmas and a Hope-filled New Year
The 2020 Christmas Light Up at the Club was a little more sedate than usual, but no less merry and possibly more meaningful than ever before.
JOY OF GIVING
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On Sunday 6 December 2020, the Swiss Club hosted a festive gathering for the young beneficiaries of Children’s Wishing Well at Edelweiss, our function room behind the leisure pool. Though staff and Members of the Club had sponsored gifts for 40 children, due to COVID-19 restrictions only 10 were able to be physically present.
Ten tables of five seated our young guests, their parents and/or guardians, Children's Wishing Well and Swiss Club staff, along with kind Members who had donated gifts.
After a warm welcome speech by our GM Aaron, dinner was served and presents unwrapped. Our guests tucked into turkey or barramundi with mashed potato, Movenpick ice cream and Christmas cookies. The feast was washed down with free-flow soft drinks, and mulled wine for the grownups.
The children received the gifts they had ‘wished for’ in advance – mostly humble requests for sports equipment such as badminton rackets, a football and basketball, stationery sets, clothing and watches. Two thumbs up to Adrian, Aaron, Fabian, and Maya and Eden (who teamed up), who fulfilled four children’s Christmas wishes by generously sponsoring four gifts.
All present expressed their thanks to the Swiss Club and its Members for hosting the event. Yuva, a young Children's Wishing Well guest, spoke for everyone when she said, “It’s really fun and it looks beautiful. I met such nice people. I would like to say thank you so much for this event!”
It was a heart-warming sight to see our Members’ children warmly interact with our young guests, escorting them to the playground and playing badminton with the gifted rackets. It confirmed that children heed no socio-economic or cultural barriers – kids just want to have fun!
LET IT SNOW, LET IT GLOW!
At 6.45pm, our guests and Members gathered around the pool for the moment we’d all been waiting for – the Christmas Light Up!
At 7.15pm, the snow machine was switched on and the Club was aglow with twinkling coloured lights. Finally, it was beginning to feel a lot like Christmas…
Music and merriment filled the air, while social distancing was observed on the ground. Our ever-watchful Safety Management Officers Adrian and Elvis patrolled the premises and gently reminded those present to do the right thing.
Along with their own gifts and prettily wrapped gifts for 30 other children, our guests from the Children's Wishing Well took home goody bags brimming with reusable masks and hand sanitiser, kindly sponsored by a Committee Member, Swiss Club T-shirts, soft toys and chocolates.
THOUGHTS ON THE YEAR PAST, HOPES FOR THE YEAR AHEAD
We took the opportunity to ask some of the guests and Members to share their reflections on the year past and the yearend, along with their hopes for 2021. Here are some of their thoughtful responses.
“So many things happened in 2020 besides COVID-19 – the Australian bushfires, earthquakes, volcanoes, ‘Black Lives Matter’, Trump… But somehow it all ended well for us. We feel safe here in Singapore, and we have a baby on the way. We will definitely remember this year – for all the bad things and the good things that happened… For us personally, this Christmas is very different because it’s our first tropical Christmas. Every new year is a new challenge. We are young and motivated, and looking forward to what 2021 will bring us!”
Bojan Mirkovic, Swiss Club Sports Partner “Though it was forced upon us, I truly appreciated the intimacy of being intensely connected to my family, without the distractions of travel and so many other things. I think this year can be a steppingstone for change. We’re thinking more about sustainability issues and the environment and how we live our lives – including selfcare and working in the digital space. When things break down, there are a lot of opportunities to build them back up in a new and improved way. I hope to see that, and I think Singapore can do it more so than most places.”
Christin Kos, Swiss Club Member
Patrick Kos, Swiss Club Member “Though we won’t be seeing our extended family in Europe, I have noticed that expats in Singapore are doing a lot more things to celebrate amongst themselves. Usually, everybody is busy packing and getting ready to travel at this time of the year. But this year, people are devoting a lot of effort to doing things with each other. It’s going to be a nice Christmas after all!”
Meghan Schmidt-Sanders, Swiss Club Member
