Cutting for a Cause

There are many things you can expect from the creative minds of youths and young entrepreneurs today but to combine creativity, customer satisfaction and do it for a cause is a whole different ballgame. The Pre-Cutathon held at Sunway University College (Sunway) was implemented to do all of the above.

A Cut Above Academy collaborated with Brian Lee, the Youth and Business Director of Junior Chamber International Kuala Lumpur (JCIKL), and alumnus of Sunway as well as Sunway’s Young Entrepreneur Society (YES) with Sunway Education Group to host this fundraiser. Their vision was simple; to use expertise and skills, deliver customer satisfaction and most importantly set the benchmark for Malaysian citizens to start giving back to the community.

Peter Wong, Head of a Cut Above Academy (third from left) presenting the cheque to Puan Sri Susan Cheah (center).

 The Pre-Cutathon 7 (Season II), an extension of the Cutathon 7 (Season II) started with a punch at Sunway and followed by with a 3 day hair cutting marathon officiated by the wife of Tan Sri Dato Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah, Puan Sri Datin Seri Dr Susan Cheah at Sunway Pyramid.

The goal of the fundraiser was to attract a large crowd and provide them with excellent services with a haircut priced at RM 10. Proceeds of RM 14,000 gathered from the cutathon were all donated to the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation.

(From left) Brian Lee, member of A Cut Above Academy, Jane Ting and Heri Gunawan.

The Cutathon at Sunway University College was also a learning opportunity for Heri Gunawan, the president of YES and his fellow young students to showcase a marvellous effort in organizing this fundraiser. With bright smiles and a passion, they marched the grounds of Sunway campus applying their sharp skills and entrepreneur knowledge and managed to obtain overwhelming response from the students during the event.
Jane Ting from ACCA who had her hair cut expressed “I am really glad that proceeds will be going to charity and I’m happy to be able to give back to the community in a small manner”.

The Cutathon was not just a fundraising but a window of opportunity especially for Sunway’s YES to experiment and learn while gaining exposure and experience in the business world.

Ms. Winnie Loo, the Founder and Creative Director of A Cut Above Academy said “The first Cutathon kicked off in September 2004 with the initial objective of raising funds for charitable organisations in order to help the needy society. We felt good being able to help the people. This is why we decided to make this Cutathon an annual event. Winnie Loo also expressed that she had chosen the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation because Just like A Cut Above Academy it is dedicated to providing educational opportunities. She added,” The Jeffrey Cheah Foundation aims to provide education to deserving individuals who cannot afford education. A Cut Above Academy also aims to provide education to the younger generations by educating them vocationally. We believe that education is the basic foundation of an individual; hence, we decided to contribute the charity funds to The Jeffrey Cheah Foundation’.