GIRL POWER
Three female entrepreneurs and their friends banded together to raise funds for the charity Daughters of Tomorrow, putting up a specially designed leather pouch for sale and spreading the word with a then-and-now photo shoot. Grace Ma gets the story
Love – in its myriad forms – is a force to be reckoned with, and the passion to empower women ranks among them.
Founder and ceo of Privé Clinic Karen Soh, Crib Society co‑founder Tjin Lee and Bynd Artisan co‑founder Winnie Chan came together in February and started a fundraising campaign for Daughters of Tomorrow ( dot), a Singapore‑based charity that empowers underprivileged women to be financially independent by equipping them with skills and linking them to employment opportunities.
The All For Love campaign, which ended on March 8, pledged 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of leather pouches inscribed with quotes on love to dot. Each blush pink pouch came with a Clé de Peau Beauté travel set and retailed for $268.
Karen shares that the project started over a coffee tête‑à‑tête with good friend Tjin. “We were recounting how difficult it is for working mothers to find support, and that we were blessed that our financial independence gives us the freedom to give the best of ourselves to our work and family,” she says. “We wanted to do something for other women who may be in a difficult phase in their lives and give them that same freedom.”
The aim was to raise $25,000 for dot’s programmes, which include equipping the beneficiaries with vocational and practical day‑to‑day skills to achieve sustained employment with healthy family relationships, as well as working with employers for a better understanding of the challenging circumstances faced by these women.
“I hope this campaign will encourage more women to take up and support a cause they’re passionate about,” Karen adds. “It’s not only the big organisations that can make a difference; the little we do can have a big impact too.”
To help spread word of the campaign, the women roped a group of society friends as well as Privé Clinic patrons into a photo shoot that recreated special moments based on old photographs, in a celebration of love in various forms – between man and wife, mother and child, and siblings, as well as self‑love. As they took a trip down memory lane, the women shared their thoughts on lending a helping hand and what empowerment means to them...