Helping Angels

Helping Angels is a global Facebook group to recruit volunteers to do welfare work founded by Poesy Liang on August 30, 2007 - a day before Malaysia's 50th Year Independence Day. It is a movement of compassion based on random acts of kindness. Activities are created by volunteers who offers leadership to drive projects in their own locality. All activities are funded privately and the group does not handle any form of public donation or collection of any material goods. The objectives of the group is to motivate career professionals to use their wisdom, influence, skills and time resources to help others. The group seeks to promote the donation of time and efforts, placing least importance to the giving in material and monetary sponsorship. Activities cover welfare of the underprivileged, education, homeless, old aged, animal rescue and rehoming, and life-coaching.

"We serve to help those in need. By helping others, our lives are in turn enhanced."

Activities[edit]

Through angel work, volunteers will work on their enhanced awareness through a steepened learning growth. Angel members are encouraged to identify opportunities to help others by exercising their professional creativity - with simplified processes that is practical and effective. While activities are being carried out, the subtle objective is to recognise the joy that can be derived from the act of selflessness. In this way the movement is also to plant the habit of goodness into the society around us, where people can start to generate positivity in their daily affairs - habituating generosity and compassion, with the study and application of wisdom.

To date, projects has sprouted in Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Hong Kong, Dharamshala, Bali, Singapore, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dakar, Touba, London, Paris, Hamburg, Bangkok and Cannes.

Bald Empathy Movement[edit]

Bald Empathy Movement is an art project by the Helping Angels movement of compassion, here the message lies in raising empathy for health and wholesome living. Poesy shaved her head bald at the 64th Cannes Film Festival on the morning of May 16, 2011 to bring awareness to the following 5 objectives :

1. To make bald fashionable and cool, as an empathy movement for those suffering from loss of dignity due to premature hair-loss, and hair-loss due to chronic illnesses such as cancer.

2. To advocate wholesome lifestyles. Living well - emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually. Encourage healthy attitude, diet, exercise, lifestyle and free of destructive or negative habits - by getting a deeper understanding of wholesome wellness vs chronic illnesses.

3. To raise sensitivity towards survivors and patients suffering from ill health. Learning awareness so we do not cause further stress to those who are battling health issues. E.g.; Don't bring germs or viruses (no matter how minor) to visit someone who is already fighting for their life. Don't take chances with other lives. Appreciate that ignorance can lead us to take many things in life such as health for granted. Don't impose secondhand smoke onto non-smokers.

4. Know that we can give our hair to cancer patients by getting the wigs made and giving it as a gesture of love and respect. Don't just give away the loose hair - make the wig before giving. Good wigs are expensive things. Here is an opportunity for you to give away something not just great, but good and from your heart. Lighten the financial load for others. This point is an awareness for generosity.

5. No hair, no shampoo, less water. Be mindful towards the environment.

A collection of international photographers and film makers are part of the crew to viral the movement on the internet to gain worldwide attention. Since the conception of this movement, many has followed suit in shaving their head for the cause. The list includes green activist Matthias Gelber, Poesy's mother Dr. Chuang, her father KK Leong, singer Elvira Arul, paralympian newscaster Ras Adiba, and more.

Thursday tutoring program[edit]

The longest standing weekly project in Kuala Lumpur. The program has been active since September 27, 2007 covering Precious Children's Home, Trinity Children Centre and Precious Youth Centre. Every Thursday evenings, 3 groups of Kuala Lumpur members will volunteer and spend time coaching underprivileged children of these welfare homes.

Hong Kong Gratitude Letters Project[edit]

January 16, 2010 Helping Angels collaborated with Xuan Yuan Education Fund in Hong Kong, where Helping Angels members correspond in handwritten letters with the underprivileged children from 130 donated schools in rural China. The event was supported by City University of Hong Kong and hosted on campus.

Concert Series Projects[edit]

Classical and jazz concerts by volunteering musician members were held in Taipei at an orphanage and San Francisco for a blind association.

Bangkok Blankets[edit]

A collaboration with Cambridge Society to send 700 blankets to the underprivileged folks in the northern part of Thailand that was struck with an unusually cold winter in 2008.

Random Acts of Kindness[edit]

Past activities were in Senegal where bottles of water were given to the children in the streets of Touba, as well as sets of colour pencils and notepads to children in Dakar. A project is currently being developed for London.

Poesy's World[edit]

A private online magazine where the memberships are by invitation only. Here Poesy Liang documented her journals daily since 1999. In 2005, the author closed the site to all viewers although the writing continued.

Sources[edit]

i. Online group finds a way to give back to the community by Tan Ju Eng
ii. More about Poesy
iii. Googled results of Poesy's news
iv. Report from a participant of the Young Leadership International
v. SK-II Nona TV3 Interview of Poesy Liang, Founder of Helping Angels
vi. Helping Angels Official Website, Work in Progress
vii. Helping Angels Facebook Group
viii. The Star March 14, 2008 Interview
ix. The Girl Who Just Wouldn't Give Up
x. Lending A Helping Hand
xi. Info on Precious Children's Home
xii. Info on Trinity Children Centre
xiii. Poesy's World

References[edit]

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