Kuala Lumpur, 8 August 2019 – With the main goal of instilling an entrepreneurial mindset in the younger generation, 7-Eleven Malaysia, the nation’s favourite convenience chain store recently organized an entrepreneurship workshop for the children of Happy Neighbourhood (Jiran Ria) at Pangsapuri Enggang, Puchong in collaboration with its start-up, NGOHub.
Margaret Vani Simon, Community Relations Director of Happy Neighbourhood started her community service at Kampung Pandan which provides shelter for children and senior citizens. With the support from friends and a dedicated funder to contribute food items, the Kampung Pandan home began functioning independently. Vani Simon’s attention then diverted to another community center which was in dire need of aid and assistance. She reached out to the community at Pangsapuri Enggang in Puchong and with the help of the children from Pangsapuri Enggang and her assistant, turned a small 3-bedroom flat into a community center that nurtures close to 60 underprivileged kids now.
The workshop started off with a briefing coordinated by the volunteers on how to build micro enterprises with the help of visual aids. The children were then divided into two groups and assigned to make a famous local ice dessert – or locally known as ‘aiskrim Malaysia’ – as their product and prepare attractive marketing materials to promote the sale of the products. The kids were very excited and enthusiastic to embark on their entrepreneurial journey and learn about margin and price setting, the art of innovation by combining different flavours to create a unique-tasting concoction, and even trend spotting, as it is also important to ride the trend wave to gain traction and popularity.
The event ended with a delicious teatime spread that the children enjoyed with the volunteers. 7-Eleven Malaysia also distributed goodie bags that contain a variety of plush toys and snacks as tokens of appreciation for the participants’ hard work and creative efforts.
A thankful Vani Simon said, “Many children here have dropped out of schools early, while some have never even been to schools. Hence, it is very encouraging to see the children here today actively participating in the workshop. I hope they will continue to practice their newfound entrepreneurial skills and be successful in the future.”
Ronan Lee, 7-Eleven Malaysia General Marketing Manager said, “As marketers, we are pleased to share our knowledge and expertise with the very earnest group of children today. We hope that by instilling basic business knowledge in these young minds, they would be inspired to run their own successful businesses in the future.”
Vani Simon encourages the public to support Happy Neighbourhood in any way. Interested party may contact Vani Simon at margaret.vani@gmail.com or call +6016-337 8607.
About 7-Eleven Malaysia
7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Berhad through its subsidiary 7-Eleven Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. is the owner and operator of 7-Eleven stores in Malaysia. Incorporated on 4 June 1984, 7-Eleven Malaysia has made its mark in the retailing scene and has been a prominent icon for over 35 years. 7-Eleven Malaysia is the pioneer and largest 24-hour standalone convenience store operator in Malaysia with over 2,340 outlets nationwide and serves close to a million customers daily. 7-Eleven stores can be found across bustling commercial districts to serene suburban residential compounds throughout Malaysia, from petrol stations and LRT stations to shopping malls and medical institutions. 7-Eleven is Always There For You.
