Hotel group teams up with hospital to raise funds for children with heart disease

Starwood hotels general managers and Gleaneagles Hospital outpatients holding the ‘Bintang the Bear’ toys at the campaign launch.

Starwood hotels in Kuala Lumpur are teaming up in a joint effort to raise much-needed funds to financially support local children born with congenital heart defects.

The initiative first mooted by Lé Meridien Kuala Lumpur saw great success when it was kicked off last year.

Since then, the hotel group decided to expand on the support and this year, for the first time, four Starwood hotels in Kuala Lumpur — Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral, The Westin Kuala Lumpur, Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur and Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur — will coordinate efforts to raise funds for this worthy cause this Christmas.

Each hotel is selling “Bintang the Bear” soft toys for a minimum RM50 each, and all proceeds will be channelled to Gleneagles Hospital.

Eleven-month-old Jaeda Malika Sundaram is all smiles as she plays with the ‘Bintang the Bear’ soft toys. The bears, priced at RM50 each, feature four distinctive T-shirt designs reflecting the unique characteristics of the four hotels.

Founded in 1996, “A Heart for A Heart” charity programme was set up by Gleneagles Hospital to help children with critical congenital heart defects, who need urgent financial aid due to limited financial means, to undergo corrective surgery at the hospital’s cardiac centre.

The bears feature four distinctive T-shirt designs reflecting the unique characteristics of the four hotels.

This collection has been created exclusively for Starwood by Penang-based artist Tiffany Choong of Bulanlifestyle.com.

“When this project presented itself, I was so happy to be a part of it. It is my passion to use my art for positive social change and to create awareness for the community.

“All four designs are tied together by motivational and positive words to live by: Discover, Dream, Play and Love,” she said.

“In the true spirit of giving back, Starwood welcomes opportunities to contribute to the communities and the alliance in which the partnership with Gleneagles Hospital was built,” said Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc South East Asit regional vice-president Chuck Abbott.

“We have always strived to engage with the community and hope to share our success with a meaningful cause. This time, the children are our core focus as they are the future.”

The bears will be available for purchase until Dec 31 at the respective hotels’ front desk.