Unfortunately, it’s only in the face of adversity that we finally stop to think about the level of awareness and support around us. First for ourselves and then for all those that find themselves in the same situation. It was only after my diagnosis that we achieved an understanding of the extent of the lack of awareness and support. So with the support and determination of colleagues, Al Jalila Foundation and Emaar Foundation we embarked on the journey of creating a series of events that would start an awareness campaign to raise funds to be used (via donation to Al Jalila foundation) for Research and Treatment of ALS in the UAE.
September 30, 2017 With the support of amazing international, local and locally based artists (el Seed; Mattar bin Lahej, Anna Masters, Petr Weigl; Ben Barrell and Fadi Sarieddine) and the Armani Hotel Dubai we arranged an Iftar Dinner combined with a Live and Silent auction. The evening was a great success and an extremely humbling experience for me. 350 guests joined the event, enjoying the wonderful Iftar buffet prepared by the team at the Armani Hotel Dubai and joining in the fun bidding for the artworks. The auction raised US$87,000, Emaar Properties (my employer of choice) graciously doubled the amount to a US$175,000 – a great start to the ALSDXB awareness campaign (#ChallengeALSDXB). The final amount raised by the proceeds of…
Charity Iftar and Art Auction, 22nd June 2017
