Happy Ever After
How’s this for a good day’s work? In just an hour, model, entrepreneur and philanthropist Petra Nemcova has managed to coax a roomful of guests at the verdant Alkaff Mansion to part with more than US$100,000. With their donations — outright and through the auction of items contributed by the likes of watch and jewellery-maker Chopard — Nemcova’s New York-based Happy Hearts Fund (HHF), the charity she founded in 2005, will be able to build three extra schools for children in regions hit by natural disasters. Organised by HHF Indonesia, the organisation’s first overseas chapter, the evening fundraiser brought together board members (one of whom is Prestige Indonesia publisher Ronald Liem) and guests, who having heard Nemcova’s anecdotal experiences of working with disadvantage communities, will hopefully go on to spread the ripple of social impact.