Happy hour for a cause: Hong Kong bar donates half of drinks revenue to fundraising drive in Christmas charity event
- Lan Kwai Fong Group’s BACI Trattoria & Bar raises funds for a good cause at its Santa Con charity event
- ‘At this joyous occasion, we hope to help more people, bring them love and happiness,’ says Susanne Ching from the group
There were cheers all round at the Lan Kwai Fong Group’s (LKFG) BACI Trattoria & Bar in Hong Kong, with revellers in Father Christmas hats chatting with friends over drinks.
“We are here to make people happy,” said Susanne Ching Tak-yan, LKFG’s managing director for the Western division. “We always aim to offer an innovative, joyful and unique experience to each guest. Our restaurants do not just strive to provide good food and drinks, but also an unforgettable experience, an unforgettable memory.”
The bar hosted the Santa Con charity event from December 19 to 21, and donated half of its drinks revenue from happy hour between 3pm and 8pm on those days to Operation Santa Claus (OSC), an annual fundraising drive by the South China Morning Post and public broadcaster RTHK.
Marking its 35th anniversary in 2022, OSC has raised HK$353 million (US$45 million) since its launch in 1988 to support the Hong Kong community through 323 projects. Fifteen charities are being funded in 2022.
“At festivals, people will think of Lan Kwai Fong, because it is a place of love. Every day, customers bring their family to our restaurants for a meal together. Friends, lovers and colleagues also come and have a good time together. This is love, and we want this to go on, especially at Christmas time,” Ching said.
“At this joyous occasion, we hope to help more people, bring them love and happiness. OSC supports a wide spectrum of charities. Making donations to OSC enables us to help more people with different needs,” she added.
Owned by Allan and Jonathan Zeman, the group worked with OSC for another fundraiser in 2016.
“Our bosses support charity and giving back to society. They think social responsibility is important,” said Charmaine Lau Sze-mun, the group’s HR and administration director, adding that the OSC partnership had broadened the company’s reach to different charities.
“We support charity organisations and initiatives, including OSC. We share the same goal, which is to help those in need. We work with a number of charities each year, and we are delighted to work with OSC again this year,” she said.
“We are all very excited about Santa Con – not only our colleagues here at BACI, but also those at the group’s other restaurants. Some of them even bring guests from their outlets to BACI for this event,” Ching said, waving to one such colleague, Davide Campana.
“It’s amazing to help raise funds for good causes,” said Campana, culinary development manager of Porterhouse, another LKFG restaurant. “It is really meaningful as we all share the love in Lan Kwai Fong and support charity.”
“Actually all our group … all our restaurants and bars … show support for the event. We told our customers about it and persuaded them to come to BACI to share, enjoy and experience the Christmas vibe,” he said.
“Everyone is helping out. We are all supportive of the event – both our colleagues and customers. Hong Kong people are very good people.”
“I am really happy to be part of it. After all, we are in the business of making people happy,” he said.
