Malaysia AIDS Foundation Charity Gala Dinner 2018
Cover Malaysia AIDS Foundation Charity Gala Dinner 2018

Jamie Mead shares about Hilton Hotels’ CSR initiatives and how it has impacted his outlook towards life.

About two decades ago, a young Jamie Mead worked as a banquet attendant in a hotel while attending classes at the University of South Australia. Much to his parents’ dismay, the young lad kept working in the hotel even after graduation.

Fast forward 17 years later, Jamie stands poised and confident not only as a father of two, but also as the respected regional general manager of Hilton Hotels in Malaysia. We decided to talk to him about Hilton Hotels' CSR initiatives and how it continues to inspire him.

Related Read: Hilton’s regional general manager for Malaysia picks his 5 favourite places to visit in the country

What are some of Hilton's ongoing CSR projects in Malaysia?

"We’ve stuck with some of the initiatives for over five years, focusing on education, youth development, and going green. One of the initiatives is with Malaysian AIDS Foundation in support of its red ribbon youth that focuses on young people impacted by HIV.

We have another program with SK La Salle 2, Jinjang, with underprivileged children and we provided them with school books, bags and lunches so they can stay focused in school.

We also focus on functional CSRs like hygiene. Every day we have thousands and thousands cakes of soaps, which have been used once and gets thrown away. They’re now collected and with our partners, we recycle the soaps through a special process, where it gets stripped back, re-processed into a new piece of soap. Of course, it’s hygienically processed."

Tatler Asia
Hilton Hotels Malaysia's CSR initiatives
Above CSR Initiatives by Hilton Hotel

What is your role in these initiatives?

"This is something that I'm personally very passionate about, and for me personally, my main one is with the Malaysian AIDS Foundation because they are based in this hotel. I seek them on various working groups and various committees for events that we are having in the hotel or with their ongoing projects. We also have a vested interest in making them successful and seeing the way they have developed over the last six year is highly gratifying. The charity gala dinner last year with the prime minister and prime minister’s wife in attendance is a tremendous achievement. So yes, we are quite intensively involved in helping them and vice versa."

Also read: Malaysia AIDS Foundation Raises RM355,000 At A #GirlPower Gala Dinner

Tatler Asia
Malaysia AIDS Foundation Charity Gala Dinner 2018
Above Malaysian AIDS Foundation Charity Gala Dinner

Which initiative has impacted you most?

"Personally, I really liked SK La Salle 2, Jinjang because I've been to the school a few times, but knowing that the children remember us and we have a relationship with them is so satisfying. I also really like how we always have more volunteers than we can take.

You know, we sit here in an air-conditioned office and have all sorts of comfortable things, and yet, where they are - it’s another world. Although we’re giving them something very basic like food, paper and pencils, but knowing how much they appreciate these little things is wonderful. So, we really hope we have given them an extra push for maximising their potential."

Tatler Asia
Jamie Mead at SK La Salle 2, Jinjang
Above Ribbon cutting ceremony for the new library at the SK La Salle 2, Jinjang

Although always-on-the-go, Jamie still finds time to hit the gym, garden and read. One of his favourite things to do is travel, and luckily enough his work grants him many opportunities to visit various places in Asia. Since living in Malaysia for the past 6 years, he has visited various parts of Malaysia, with the recent one being to Melaka. He has also attempted to learn the Malaysian language, but he feels his pronunciation still needs a bit of work.

For more information on the impact Hilton is making, click here.

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