Ring in 2024! Bright Future

Moving into the new year, City Management will continue to put residents first through a series of fun and meaningful causes and events www.richardgordonphotography.com=">www.richardgordonphotography.com</a>" &="&" courtesy="courtesy" of="of" CM="CM">Discovery Bay Services Management Ltd (City Management, CM) rounded off 2023 as it means to go on with two high-profile, community-building events. DB Dragon Boat Gala, held in October, served to promote sports and a healthy lifestyle, and it birthed Paddle for a Good Cause, a CM-led campaign aimed at supporting Hong Kong’s underprivileged. DB Recycling Day meanwhile, held in December, set out to inspire residents to live greener and fully embrace all the eco initiatives already in place in DB. Both events will be reprised in 2024. “City Management’s aim is multi-faceted: to help residents build relationships through shared activities, to celebrate DB’s multicultural demographic and to promote community service,” opens Ernest Lee, Assistant Director of Discovery Bay Services Management Ltd (DBSML). “We are delighted to help residents enjoy their lives through different kinds of activities specifically tailored for them.” DRAGON BOATING Think back to October 29, 2023 and you’ll recall that Tai Pak Beach was packed with paddlers – and spectators – enjoying the DB Dragon Boat Gala. Upwards of 500 people showed up to cheer on the competitors, and there were six fiercely contested race categories: Open, Ladies, A45, Community, Gala and Mixed. “A DB tradition of 30+ years, the DB Dragon Boat Gala is a significant event aimed at unifying the community; it’s designed to bring residents of diverse cultures, age groups and interests together,” says Ernest. “Competing in a sport, or simply watching it, is a powerful bonding mechanism. City Management sets out to help forge these bonds by organising events of this kind. The strength of our community lies in the strength of the connections that we have with each other.” Despite having to be rescheduled due to Typhoon Koinu, DB Dragon Boat Gala 2023 saw 35 local teams participate, and over 80 VIPs were on hand to present awards to the winners. In setting out to engage more residents, CM added many new elements to the 2023 race-day lineup. There was a Row-on Verandah – with handicraft stalls and face-painting booths – to up the family-friendly factor, plus the opportunity for kids to take part in a mini dragon boat race. Live performance art was provided by DB-based sand sculptor Gary Melsom from Sandae, who created a dragon-shaped sculpture using just sand, water and his imagination. Notably too, DB Dragon Boat Gala 2023 was filled with a joyful, carnival-like atmosphere thanks to live performances by DB-based song and dance troupes. These included The Beefy Brothers, The Decibels, YRock, DMR School of Ballet, Island Dance, Goggin Stewart School of Irish Dance, Tumbler Cheerleading Team and RG Pro Gymnastics Team. “DB Dragon Boat Gala 2023 was bigger and better than ever before thanks to all the new elements introduced by City Management,” says Ernest. “We also found a new way to discharge corporate social responsibility and reach out to the wider community by collaborating with Foodsport, a local social enterprise that helps underprivileged Hongkongers through sports events and food donation.”COLLABORATING WITH FOODSPORT Foodsport’s calorie-drive campaign is becoming increasingly well-known across Hong Kong. The idea is that while sport can promote good health, it can also facilitate altruism, providing a way for people to give food to those in need. The concept is surprisingly straightforward: the number of calories burnt by participants in a sport event is calculated by a professional nutritionist and food of equivalent calories is then donated to the underprivileged. CM collaborated with Foodsport for the first time at DB Dragon Boat Gala 2023, setting up the Paddle for a Good Cause campaign. A Foodsport nutritionist calculated that during the dragon boat races, competitors burnt over 1 million calories. Food of equivalent calories was then packaged in DB and donated to 100 Hong Kong families in need. “City Management was delighted to make this donation via Feeding HK, a local charity and food bank that fights hunger, assisting low-income families and the elderly,” Ernest says. “Importantly too, Paddle for a Good Cause was just a first step. We are exploring opportunities to hold more meaningful events in DB in 2024.” The Paddle for a Good Cause food packaging took place on December 14, 2023 at Discovery Bay MultiPurpose Hall. Representatives from CM and Hong Kong Resort were in attendance, alongside local community stakeholders and representatives from Foodsport, Feeding HK, DB's dragon boat teams and S.K.H. Wei Lun Primary School. Since Christmas was just around the corner, CM elected to include festive treats in the food packages to bring additional smiles to the faces of the beneficiaries. DB RECYCLING DAY The second, high-profile CM event held at the end of 2023 was the DB Recycling Day, which brought the community together to protect the environment. Brought back for the first time since the pandemic, on December 2 in DB Plaza, it will be held annually in the years to come, endorsing CM’s focus on longterm eco-friendly living and sustainability. Residents enjoyed a fun and meaningful day with environmental game booths and exhibitions, ecofriendly product demonstrations and the opportunity to learn about different green/ eco topics from CM’s green partners. There was a special focus on all the community-wide initiatives that are already in place to help DBers be kinder to the planet, such as the DB Food Waste Collection Scheme, DB Family Farm Project and Green DBers Programme. “The annual DB Recycling Day serves as a platform for DB residents and stakeholders to share ideas about green living,” Ernest explains. “City Management sets out to update and inform participants about the latest advances in green living in a fun and interesting way. Education is the key to environmental protection and, going forward, the recycling days will continue to serve an educational purpose for all. With waste charging being implemented on April 1, 2024, residents wanted to learn how to avoid having to pay more to dispose of their waste. So, the timing for the 2023 event was ideal. “Building an engagement platform between residents and City Management strengthens and gives coherence to the green living ethos already established within DB,” Ernest adds. “The DB Recycling Day was suspended for a few years due to the pandemic, and we were delighted to bring it back in 2023 on a larger scale with more participants and more activities.” On the day, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) provided a Municipal Solid Waste Charging Exhibition and a Smart Recycling Promotion Vehicle. There was also the opportunity for residents to pose for a photo beside “Big Waster,” the EPD’s mascot designed to promote waste reduction and energy saving in Hong Kong. Environmentally responsible children are springing into action across the planet, so it’s no surprise that local students were well represented at the DB Recycling Day. S.K.H. Wei Lun Primary School students performed an eco-themed show, set 50 years in the future, to encourage viewers to reflect on and improve their eco-actions. And in an impassioned presentation, Discovery College’s Green Cobras shared their mission to promote ecoawareness in the community and among their peers. Further highlights of the DB Recycling Day included a flower and plant market, organic vegetable market (with products from local farms) and a leaf print workshop, where residents had the opportunity to design tote bags decorated with natural-leaf pigment and flower petals. There was a dance performance by DB’s Elderly Fun Day participants, and songs from the adults and kids of DB-based choir Sing for Love. “City Management initiatives are designed to inform residents, while encouraging them to have fun,” Ernest concludes. “We look forward to giving back both to residents and the wider community by providing more events of this kind in 2024.”