Can charity be fun? Of course it can. So anyone with a taste for statement shoes and bags, or those who just love tucking into a good dessert should attend one of the most good-humoured and enjoyable charity events of the season – The Second Annual Divine Desserts and Heavenly Handbags Charity Auction.
Organised by Pamela Abdulla and Mariam Al Mazrouri with a group of local and expat women, the event is a get-together where all sorts of new and ‘gently used’ designer goodies are auctioned off to raise money for charitable works. Among them this year will be a brand new pink Burberry bag, a black Marc Jacobs slouch leather tote and a once-used large Kate Spade day bag, which features a beautiful fabric bow, with bidding starting at around Dhs500.
Also up for grabs will be an exclusive chocolate handbag made especially for the event by the pastry chef at Fairmont Bab al Bahr (the hotel is also generously catering the event with some delectable desserts), some original artworks, plus a raffle for city treats, including vouchers for Essence restaurant at the Beach Rotana and mani/pedi vouchers from Dashing Nails.
The paintings are donated by local artists who wish to remain anonymous, while the handbags have been donated by many of the ladies who attended the first auction and were keen to contribute again.
Last year’s event was a tremendous success, with Dhs50,000 raised, and Pamela says she’s expecting to raise even more this year ‘It truly is being called the charity event of the season by American Community School of Abu Dhabi and British School Al Khubairat and Raha International School mums!’ she says.
Pamela also hopes to get some younger members of the community from Zayed University on board. She says, ‘We hope to partner with and recruit students to solicit handbags and shoes to sell at the auction, to volunteer at the auction, to spread the word about the auction, and to participate with us fully.’
Several community projects will be helped by the money raised, including the Filipino Resource Center – a safe house at the Filipino Embassy – where volunteers offer help to the women temporarily housed there. This includes physical therapy, educational support and financial assistance, providing funds for visa cancellations and flights home to the Philippines. The group have also carried out 10 (to date) donation runs to Abu Dhabi labourers, which they call ‘Worker Bus Raids’, delivering bags of food to workers as they board their buses to return to camp at the end of the day. Pamela intends to continue this work with the funds raised at the second auction, but also aims to help local and expat children with special needs.
If you’d like to get involved with this extremely worthy cause, either to donate money, time, or designer items, you can get in touch with Pamela at pabdalla5@gmail.com.
The Second Annual Divine Desserts and Heavenly Handbags Charity Auction will take place on October 11, from 7pm-10pm at Fairmont Bab Al Bahr’s Exclusive Arzanah Villa. Tickets are Dhs50 and can be bought by contacting mark-and-lisa@hotmail.com (off island), or pabdalla5@gmail.com (on island).
