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THE One Khalidiya & Abu Dhabi Mall
Abu Dhabi Terry Fox Run, February 2013
The 18th annual Abu Dhabi Terry Fox Run was held on 22 February along the capital’s Corniche to raise money for cancer research. Our Abu Dhabi tribe members signed up for the popular event for the fourth time, helping to keep Terry’s dream alive by raising Dhs1,720 in donations for this worthy cause. All kitted out in their bright red LOVE T-shirts, 86 Onederworkers made their way around the 8km course, along with more than 18,000 participants who collectively raised over Dhs337,000 for local cancer research initiatives. Terry’s sister Judith Fox was on hand to celebrate in the festivities and support everyone taking part. Thrilled to be contributing to a good humanitarian cause and proud of topping last year’s donation, our Abu Dhabi team plans to continue with this annual tradition and join in the fun again next year. Find out more at www.terryfoxrun.org
THE ‘HomeMaid’ Boxes Initiative, December 2012 – February 2013
THE ‘HomeMaid’ Boxes initiative came to fruition after one of our Khalidiya Restaurant waiters visited the Philippine Embassy to deliver toiletries and food donated by the Restaurant team to the runaway maids seeking shelter there. During the trip, he learnt that there were 170 ladies sleeping in one large room, many without mattresses, blankets or pillows and often only a piece of cardboard separating them from the cold, hard floor. This awful situation was shared with the rest of the Abu Dhabi tribe and before long everyone was brainstorming ideas on how to help the poor maids. The team started holding raffles and competitions as well as collecting donations to raise money, but soon realised that these ideas were not sustainable. Then they had a brainwave; to make healthy, home-made meals in our Restaurant kitchen and sell them to staff at reasonable prices. The ‘HomeMaid’ Boxes idea was born and the aim was to sell 20 meals a day in order to raise the Dhs5,000 target in 35-40 days. The response was overwhelming and on the first day alone 34 meals were ordered. Upon hearing about this heartfelt initiative, some of our Restaurant suppliers even got involved, providing free ingredients and discounting certain products. In the end a grand total of Dhs8,912 was collected in just 40 days. After consulting with the Embassy and learning that in the interim, mattresses, blankets and pillows had already been donated, it was decided that the funds should be used to create a fully-fledged sewing training centre so that the maids can learn some useful skills that will enable them to earn a wage. The team purchased and delivered five commercial sewing machines along with various accessories such as cloth, industrial scissors, zippers, buttons etc. to the Embassy on 6 February. This proves that ‘Everything is Possible’, especially when working together as one!Ramadan Iftar Dinners, July-August 2012
Our Abu Dhabi Management teamed up with Abu Dhabi Cause Connect to participate in their Ramadan Iftar Dinners initiative, which involved organising weekly Iftars at women’s labour camps in Abu Dhabi every Friday throughout Ramadan. The aim was to encourage social and cultural integration as well as help make the lives of these selfless women more comfortable and enjoyable. While our group of 13 'Onederworkers' donated and delivered enough water for hundreds of ladies at four Iftars in Mussafah from July 27 to August 17, they also helped out with serving meals. This gave them an opportunity to get to know the ladies a little better and share in a fun evening with them. For more information on how you can volunteer or help, visit www.facebook.com/AbuDhabiCauseConnect
Arts & Games Drive, March-June 2012
Our Abu Dhabi tribe joined forces with Abu Dhabi Cause Connect to support the Arts & Games Drive for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF). This non-profit organization sponsors and runs summer camps for challenged and able-bodied children, giving them an opportunity to interact, learn and play together in order to break down existing stereotypes. Our Abu Dhabi team donated Dhs700 worth of toys that included 4 giant jigsaw puzzles, 10 face painting kits, 40 colouring books, 10 pastel sets, 14 skipping ropes and 14 footballs. Due to all the kind donations and contributions to this worthy cause, more than 12 camps were able to be held across the Middle East, resulting in over 1,200 underprivileged and special needs children enjoying a fun-filled summer.Abu Dhabi Autism Awareness Walk,April 2012
To help spread the message of ‘Accept, Understand and Educate people with Autism’, the Future Centre for Special Needs launched its 4th Autism Awareness Walk at 6pm on April 26. Rallying to support the cause, 45 of our Abu Dhabi staff joined more than 2,500 people for the candlelight walk along the capital’s Corniche. Kitted out in our infamous red LOVE shirts and each carrying a candle, the team soaked up the event’s carnival atmosphere, enjoying live music, face painting, stilt walkers, give-aways and much more. Here’s to supporting more wonderful initiatives such as this that encourage community involvement and understanding autism in the UAE.Abu Dhabi Terry Fox Run, February 2012
To raise money for local cancer research initiatives, our Abu Dhabi tribe once again participated in the Abu Dhabi Annual Terry Fox Run, held on February 17. With 74 ‘Onederworkers’ contributing AED20 each to the cause, a grand total of AED1,480 was raised to help fund four new research projects in the capital. This year’s 8.5km run along the corniche saw as many as 18,000 people joining in on the fun. This is the third year that our team has taken part in the event, but since it started in 1995, more than AED10,000,000 has been raised, supporting 42 local cancer research initiatives in Abu Dhabi. Proud of completing the course and their donation to help keep Terry’s dream alive, our tribe plans to do it all over again next year. Find out more at www.terryfoxrun.org
Acts of Love for Abu Dhabi’s Labourers, January 2012
The Labour of Love organisation collects old bed linen and towels from YAS Island hotels in order to redistribute them to local labour camps. So, with the aim of giving something back to the workers who help build our city, 12 Abu Dhabi staff joined forces with the Labour of Love team on 23 January to lend a hand with loading THE One’s three-ton truck full of blankets, sheets and towels from various hotels. Later in the 
day our group also helped with the off-loading of all the textiles at Labour of Love’s office in Al Reef. In a separate initiative, seven ‘Onederworkers’ raised enough money to donate 945 juice boxes and 2,130 packs of glucose biscuits to the Juice Box Foundation, which hands out juice and biscuits to the capital’s labourers.Vocational Training, 2005 onwards
To help integrate young challenged adults into the workplace, our Khalidiya Theatre has been hosting vocational training sessions for students from the Future Centre for Special Needs since October 2005. Four students visit the store twice a week, where each is assigned a Salesperson as a buddy to help them with their work experience. Tasks include pricing and merchandising products, tidying up, packing items at the cash till and various other duties. This not only gives them insight into how a retail outlet does business, but also an opportunity to do meaningful work, which has proven to dramatically increase their sense of self-worth. In July 2008 we also started training two students from the Special Care Centre on a weekly basis. We are happy to add that one of these young adults, Ahmed Liaqat, went on to become THE One Abu Dhabi's first Challenged Employee in May 2011. Find out more about the Special Care Centre at www.donateabrick.org
