Bangkok Deputy Governor Taya
Teepsuwan is flanked by Platinum and Gold sponsors during the opening
ceremonies.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of service to the
community, the Rotary Club of Bangkok South (RCBS) held their annual ‘Coins
on Silom’ fundraising event in Bangkok on Friday, January 27, 2012.
This was the 14th running of this charity day, which has
raised an average of 1.5 million baht per annum for the Club’s service
projects. This year’s event raised just over 2 million baht, the second
highest result in the event’s history.
The red carpet along Silom
Road is dotted with stickers, each representing a donated coin.
Originally scheduled for 4 November 2011, the event had
to be postponed as a result of the recent devastating floods which also
affected parts of Bangkok.
On this particular day, early morning rain during what is
normally one of the busiest parts of the day for collections on the street
did not augur well, but the unseasonal downpour did not dampen the members
and their helpers’ enthusiasm and a deluge of cash during the lunch period
made up for the slow start.
A large part of the funds raised came from the generosity
of the club’s sponsors which included event sponsor 3M, plus the many
platinum, gold, silver and “stand” sponsors. The members of RCBS were ably
assisted on the day by members of the Rotaract Club of Assumption University
and Interact Club of Bangkok Commercial College, as well as volunteers from
the Human Development Foundation run by Fr. Joseph Maier.
Bangkok Deputy Governor Taya
Teepsuwan and Mark Butters, president of the Rotary Club of Bangkok South
cut the ribbon to officially declare the 14th Annual Coins on Silom open.
The event received the full support of the Bangkok
Metropolitan Authority (BMA), in particular Bangkok Deputy Governor Taya
Teepsuwan, who presided over the opening ceremony, the Bangrak and
Thungmahamek District Authorities, the Royal Thai Police and all of the
building managements along Silom Road for their assistance and permissions
to hold the event.
Proceeds from the event will help to fund the many
service projects run by RCBS, including clean drinking water systems and
library starter kits for rural schools; flood rehabilitation efforts,
purchases of medical equipment for rural hospitals and assistance for
institutions such as the Pakkred Home for the Handicapped, the Thungmahamek
School for the Deaf, the Ban Bang Boon AIDS Hospice and the Sparrow Home for
the children of mothers in jail.
Dougie Riach (left) and
Narinder Saluja (right) are two of the hardest working Rotarians in the
Bangkok South Rotary Club.
Coins on Silom (Coins or CoS) is Rotary Bangkok South’s
major fund raising event. It originated from an idea back in 1998 by Past
President Wanit Mekdhanasarn and, as far as we know, was the first event of
its kind in Thailand - although similar things have been done overseas. We
now hold it each Rotary year.
“It was very hard in the first year but we did it and it
was a great success. Now the people are looking forward to our project every
year. The people are very generous and our collections can be as high as a
couple hundred thousand of baht on the day.”
Past President Wanit
Mekdhanasarn, brainchild of the Coins on Silom many years ago, is flanked by
Past District Governor Peter Malhotra (left) and Mark Butters, president of
the Rotary Club of Bangkok South.
The fundraising concept involves laying a red carpet
(actually 3M red cloth tape 20-30 centimetres wide, with a separate 3M tape
strip running down its centre) on the footpath down Silom Road - one of
Bangkok’s main thoroughfares. The “carpet” runs from Rama IV Road down to
Soi Lai Lai Sap (just past Bangkok Bank) then up the other side back to Rama
IV. Members and friends exchange token stickers for donations from the
public (a symbolic “coin”). The stickers, which bear the logos of the
Platinum sponsors, are then laid on the strip on the carpet, to form a
continuous line of “coins”.
The event was first held on 2 December 1998, and was
opened by Deputy Prime Minister Bhichai Rattakul. Bhichai was to go on to
serve as president of Rotary International in 2002-03.
“It was a success beyond our wildest dreams,” exclaimed
Wanit. “We budgeted for a net contribution to our charity funds of 500,000
baht - we got just over 1 million baht!”
Past President Krit
Wongsaengarunsri and Rotarian Krin Chammaytesakul are pleased to receive
donations.
President Mark Butters added, “Since then we have held it
in each of the succeeding 13 years, and our net takings have increased
considerably (one year exceeded 2 million baht). In the 13 years we have run
the event (1998 to 2010 inclusive), we have raised a total of THB
18,973,632.03 (over US$630,000).
“This project involves a lot of people and without them
we couldn’t do it. I thank Dougie Riach, the fundraising director and his
team for their hard work today.”
At the end of the day, Wanit’s words resonated in my
mind, which were so true. He said, “There are so many people in our world
that are in need, so if you can…help them.”
