Press Release

11th FCC Annual Charity Ball Rocks for Charity with Sensational Australian Rock Band, INXS

HKCEC’s Grand Hall packed to capacity with corporate and individual sponsors who gave generously to support the FCC Charity Fund’s projects

(Hong Kong - October 10, 2012) – The Grand Hall of the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre was packed with almost 1,500 guests [the biggest crowd to–date] for the 11th Foreign Correspondents’ Club Annual Charity Ball held last weekend (October 6th).

A Venetian Macau troupe entertained during the cocktail time after which ball guests were treated to a sumptuous dinner with fine wines provided by Distilleria Bottega of Italy and many top Bordeaux chateaux under the Crus Bourgeois label. Then it was into a sensational programme of entertainment starting with the young performers from the Po Leung Kuk, a guest appearance by Japanese child prodigy/rock guitarist Yuto Miyazawa and finally, a two –hour marathon from the evening’s featured performer, INXS, Australia’s most famous rock export.

INXS continues a stellar line up of famous performers at the FCC ball including the Doobie Brothers, Beach Boys, Blondie, Sergio Mendes, the Charlie Daniels Band and Credence Clearwater Revisited.

The FCC Charity Ball is the club’s main annual fund raising event for the Po Leung Kuk/UBS/FCC Language Training Program, the Po Leung Kuk/Bank of America Merrill Lynch/FCC Children’s Learning Centre, the Po Leung Kuk/UBS/FCC Child Development Program, the Po Leung Kuk/Henrik Nielsen/FCC Scholarship Fund and the Po Leung Kuk/Sprouts Foundation/FCC Education Services Centre, charities that help provide a better future for the underprivileged children of Hong Kong.

During the evening, generous bidders at the live auction paid handsomely for items like a 7-day Silversea Asian cruise, an original 1939 New York Yankees scorecard signed by Babe Ruth, a Shanghai Tang full table dinner set for eight people, 3 tennis racquets signed by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, a limited edition Royal Dragon Vodka and other valuable items.

The silent auction offered a host of fabulous collectables: a Chopard Mille Miglia watch, Pal Zileri Made to Measure suits, Gabriels Signature Pool Table, Sound System from ATC, including special items for the ladies like Chopard and Marc Jacobs handbags, Catherine Deane and Ika Butoni dresses.

With the guests fired up after the exciting live auction, INXS started their set with an attention- grabbing opening number, Drum Opera, which had fans heading straight to the dance floor. INXS regaled the crowd with a stunning show that featured all their greatest hits. The band line up included original band members Andrew Farriss, , Tom Farriss and with an impressive performance by new front man, Ciaran Gribbin.

Aside from ticket sales, a major part of the annual fund raiser is the Raffle Draw which this year gave away top prizes including a Chopard L.U.C men’s watch, Cathay Pacific business class tickets to Sydney with stay at the Shangri-La Hotel Sydney, Dragon Air business class tickets to Shanghai with stay at The Peninsula Shanghai, a Suite at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong among many other fabulous prizes.

Among the distinguished guests at this year’s ball were current Po Leung Kuk Chairman Jacqueline Leung, FCC President Douglas Wong, Robert and Sally Lo, John Slosar, Sandro Bottega, Abbie Chan, Jason Boyer, Henrik Nielsen, Barry Nassberg, John Moore, David Ferraris, Brett Prebble, and many other high profile business and social figures.

About the FCC Charity Fund

The FCC Charity Fund is very proud of the community service projects the charity ball has funded since 2002. The FCC Scholarship Fund was set up to help underprivileged children who wish to pursue tertiary education.

To date, the Scholarship Fund has awarded 99 scholarships and has produced graduates who are successful professionals in their chosen field. The scholars who have graduated have set up the FCC Scholars Alumni Association (FCCSAA) so they can network and help each other as they pursue their own careers. Apart from the FCCSAA, the graduated scholars have also set up a group called “The Activators” that concentrate on voluntary service and other social work which is their way of contributing and giving back to society

In 2005, the Language Training Program (LTP) was launched at the Po Leung Kuk (PLK) headquarters in Causeway Bay that teaches English and Putonghua to the PLK’s 300 children in residential care, aged 2 to 18 years old. The program was launched to address the need of Hong Kong employers for a multilingual work force fluent in Cantonese, English and Putonghua. The Po Leung Kuk/UBS/FCC Language Training Program offers extra-curricular English and Putonghua tuition through a system that makes learning a foreign language fun, interesting and stimulating.

In 2009, the Po Leung Kuk/Merrill Lynch/FCC Children's Learning Centre (CLC) and the Po Leung Kuk/UBS/FCC Child Development Program (CDP) opened in Lei Muk Shue to provide language training and family and child development services to the estate residents in the area. With increased funding from UBS in 2010, the CDP was able to set up the Baby College, a service that works closely with pregnant women and their families and provides structured parent and child programs to help the baby have a complete developmental workout and improve the relationship between young children and their parents.

Donations The FCC Charity Fund welcomes donations in cash or kind and these can be channeled thru Ms. Mireya Garcia at [email protected]. To receive more information about the fund-raising activities of the FCC Charity Fund and its work with Po Leung Kuk, please visit http://www.fcchkcharityfund.com or the Po Leung Kuk web site at www.poleungkuk.org.hk

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Issued on behalf of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club Annual Charity Ball Committee:

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Boots Moyer Tel: (+852) 9850 6839 Email: [email protected]