Animated video on helping the needy

Screenshots from Hope Place’s new animated fundraising video.

KUCHING: Local NGO Hope Place has launched an animated fundraising video to boost its efforts to provide food and necessities to the needy amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hope Place founder Kelvin Wan said the animation, which was entirely drawn by hand, told a story from a young girl’s point of view about helping an old lady.

“This animation captures both the sadness of those in need and also the joy of collective help.

“There is a sense of youthful optimism and camaraderie, ” he said, adding that he was deeply touched upon viewing the video.

Wan said fundraising was crucial as the poorest people were those most affected by the pandemic.

“We have hundreds of families on our list. We help as many as we can but there is much more that needs to be done.

“It’s also the year-end monsoon season and we are preparing to help during times of disasters, ” he said.

The video was sponsored by Hock Seng Lee Bhd (HSL), which also supports Hope Place with grants and recently provided two rent-free shoplots for the NGO to set up a thrift store.

HSL human resources and corporate communications senior manager Jennifer Tang said the best form of charity was to provide skills and products, besides financial assistance.

“Because we really value Hope Place’s work, we give them grants. Our sales department put this video together and we are looking forward to seeing their store open, which not only creates employment but will provide affordable items to the community, ” she said.

The animation team was headed by Pixbugs Studio, comprising graduates from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak and Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus.

“We have done corporate videos for HSL but this animation is the most special, ” Pixbugs founder Shawn Chai said.

“HSL’s brief to us was simple: a sponsored video for Hope Place to use long-term as a fundraiser.

“We met Wan and he quickly accepted our idea to do an animation.

“It was a tough challenge and took a long time, but we felt an animation would really stand apart.

“We are hoping it goes viral for a good cause, ” he added.