For the first time, Marina Bay Sands’ family of celebrity chef restaurants have joined hands to craft exclusive gelato flavours for Scoops of Hope, an exciting addition to this year’s Sands for Singapore Charity Festival.
From 31 July to 9 August, the public can savour eight delectable flavours at the Scoops of Hope pop-up gelato station at Marina Bay Sands, while giving back to the community at the same time. All proceeds will go towards The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, which lends a hand to children from low-income families.
George Tanasijevich, President and Chief Executive Officer of Marina Bay Sands, said, “We constantly explore creative ways to give back to the community through Sands for Singapore. As Asia’s leading dining destination and home to nine outstanding celebrity chef restaurants, Marina Bay Sands’ Scoops of Hope project is an excellent way to harness our combined culinary talent to benefit the less privileged. We invite the public to join us in this journey.”
The gelato flavours also play a special tribute to Singapore during this national celebratory period. CUT by Wolfgang Puck is contributing Gula Melaka gelato, an ingredient commonly used in local traditional desserts. Adrift by David Myers is creating Masala Teh Tarik gelato, a spin on the popular milk tea beverage. Waku Ghin by Tetsuya Wakuda will be rolling out Coconut with White Miso gelato, reminiscent of the famous local dessert Chendol, a personal favourite of Chef Tetsuya.
A special flavour has also been created to commemorate the 170th anniversary of The Straits Times, Singapore’s oldest English-language daily. Created by executive chef of Marina Bay Sands, Christopher Christie, the multi-colour ST gelato comprises creamy White Chocolate with Raspberry, topped with crunchy Blue Sprinkles, incorporating the corporate colours of the newspaper as it crosses its milestone this month.
Mr Warren Fernandez, Editor of The Straits Times, said, “For our 170th birthday, we wanted to share the joy, with some treats for our readers and friends of ST. That includes the beneficiaries of the ST Pocket Money fund, a project which is close to the hearts of all of us in the newsroom. We hope this effort will be a treat for ice-cream lovers out there too, and be a fun way for them to support this good cause.”
Already, the first 170 scoops of the ST gelato have been bought by a private donor of the The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, which is also celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. The scoops of gelato will be redeemed by beneficiaries and their accompanying caregivers from 31 July. Another corporate donor of ST School Pocket Money Fund – Ascendas Funds Management (S) Limited – has also generously donated S$50,000, in support of the Scoops of Hope initiative.
Ms Tan Bee Heong, General Manager of The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund said, “We are grateful for this very meaningful fundraising initiative by Marina Bay Sands and the generous donation of the proceeds from the gelato sales. Marina Bay Sands has been a strong supporter of The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and the contributions from this charity drive will go a long way in helping us meet the needs of our more than 13,000 beneficiaries”.
The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund is a community project initiated by The Straits Times to provide pocket money to children from low-income families to help them through school. The Fund supports over 10,000 children and youth each year. Since the project started in 2000, the Fund has disbursed close to $42 million and helped over 128,000 cases of children and youth in providing them with monthly school pocket money.
The Scoops of Hope project is also made possible with support from Carpigiani Gelato University and Allied Foodservice Equipment Pte Ltd. Carpigiani Gelato University, which has a mission to develop the art and science of gelato production, offered expertise and training in gelato making, while Allied provided the requisite equipment.
From 31 July, gelato lovers can visit the pop-up store at The Shoppes Canal Level, B2 (Opposite Cold Storage) from 11am to 9pm. Priced at S$4.50 for a single scoop, S$8 for a double scoop and S$12 for a triple scoop, a cup of cold, smooth and creamy gelato would be the perfect way for guests at The Shoppes to show their support for the underprivileged community in Singapore.
Scoops of Hope is just one of 25 community outreach initiatives that Marina Bay Sands will roll out as part of Sands for Singapore Charity Festival. The biggest-ever edition of this charity festival is held over 10 days and will intersect with the Golden Jubilee weekend. For details on how you can do your part for charity, please visit http://www.marinabaysands.com/sandsforsingapore