Friends Alice, Joyce and Jason are proof that small things can sometimes make a big difference.
They may only be young - 11, 12 and 10 respectively - but they showed a flair for fundraising beyond their years when it came to brainstorming a way to raise funds for CCF.
Together, they cooked up an idea to use their love of baking for fun to make some dough for charity.
The industrious trio whipped up an impressive batch of around 150 cookies and went door-to-door supervised around an apartment block where they live in Hong Kong selling their wares.
To keep safe and be COVID aware, they wore face masks and dished out the goods with chopsticks.
It was a huge success. Priced at HKD $5 (USD $0.64) each, all the cookies sold out, with some customers being extra generous to help the cause.
“Some people just some people just gave us more money because it was for a good cause,” says Alice.
Their cookie sale made HKD $500 (USD $64.50), split between Unicef and CCF, which received HKD $200.
“If you like baking and you don’t want to eat that much, you can sell the rest to help others,” says Joyce.
This is our story of raising money which will then go to charity. We hope you get inspired and want to help others
All three young fundraisers, who attend the German Swiss International School (GSIS), had some knowledge of Cambodia, which is why they nominated CCF as one of their chosen charities.
Joyce Fuellemann and her brother Jason went on a family trip to Cambodia, where they saw children selling souvenirs to tourists on the street, while Alice watched a video showing how children live around the dumpsite in Steung Meanchey, one of the most impoverished parts of the country where CCF works.
Alice’s family - mum and dad, Matthias and Yoko, sister, Sophie, and brother Andreas, 14, - have made another, lasting, connection with CCF.
At the end of last year, they started sponsoring a CCF student, Dara, (pictured) through CCF’s Sponsorship Program.
The family has been swapping emails with Dara, aged 10, exchanging stories about their lives.
“He [Dara] sent us a couple of videos and photos and wrote about his family and what happened before he went into the Cambodian Children's Fund,” explains Alice. “Andreas wrote him back, and sent some pictures.”
Alice hopes to visit Cambodia and meet Dara at CCF in Phnom Penh, giving her a chance to see where the cookie cash they raised and other donations are helping make a difference on the ground in the lives of vulnerable children.
Meanwhile, the girls are thinking of another charity drive - only this time they won’t be donating money but some of their hair.
“We are thinking of doing a hair donation for kids with cancer,” explains Joyce.
Alice adds: “We have a lot of hair. We can donate some so they can make wigs for children with cancer who have lost their hair. We also thought that kids with no hair should feel beautiful and should be able to do things with their hair, like make a bun or even a ponytail.”
When not dreaming up fundraising ideas, Alice likes hiking or swimming, singing and dancing, or taking the family’s five-month-old rescue dog, Schnitzel, for walks. Joyce loves roller skating and playing games, while Jason enjoys practicing his chess skills.
While the parents of all three are proud of their charity efforts, Alice, Joyce and Jason want to encourage others to do their bit too.
To capture their cookie charity story, the girls made a video of their efforts (see below). They hope it might motivate others to get involved and support charities in their home countries or abroad.
“This is our story of raising money which will then go to charity. We hope you get inspired and want to help others,” they say.
* Watch the video, click below.
