THE SUCCESS OF A RUNAWAY SINCE 2013. To increase awareness of and support for cancer survivors, VARIANTE is in its ninth year of working with Pink Unity, a programme administered under the auspices of the National Cancer Society of Malaysia (NCSM).
Based on the concept of “By survivors, for survivors ” Pink Unity believes that no one knows the myriad of emotions, insecurities, needs and wants of women cancer survivors and newly-diagnosed cancer patients better than the survivors themselves. Different from other cancer organisations, Pink Unity is wholly run by women cancer survivors as a peer support group for the benefit of other women cancer survivors. “Leslie through VARIANTE, has been helping, donating and collaborating with us for more than 10 years,” said Puan Lena Abdullah, President of Pink Unity.
“VARIANTE was the first to sponsor Pink Unity with blouses, and beautiful Baju Kurung for our ladies to wear for an Islamic fashion show. At a time when we did not have enough funds to purchase more than 20 pieces of clothing for our ladies, VARIANTE had come forward and provided them for free,” explained Puan Lena. This was the start of the ‘Fashion Fights Cancer’ for VARIANTE and Pink Unity CSR Campaign. Leslie Variyan, Chair and Founder of VARIANTE, strongly believes in giving back to society and had selected Pink Unity as their partner to do so.
“We believe that each of us know of someone directly or indirectly who has had cancer or even sadly has passed away from cancer. Pink unity provides an amazing source of support whether it is emotionally, physically, financially or simply by just being there for the patient. People out there need to know the work pink unity volunteers have done for the patients, survivors and even caregivers. By creating awareness, we might just encourage more people to offer assistance in any form, “ explained Mr. Leslie on his reason for supporting Pink Unity.
Since 2013, VARIANTE had worked with Pink Unity to create a piece of unique fashion item to be sold and the profits donated to Pink Unity. This year, VARIANTE has exclusively designed three (3) scarves using the pink carnation as their source of inspiration.
“The pink carnation is a symbol of love, gratitude and appreciation. These scarves are made in the most comfortable and soft premium satin. It’s suitable as a complete head cover or fashion accessory around the neck,” explained Mr. Leslie when asked about the scarves design.
As in the previous years, VARIANTE has pledged that their proceeds for the entire month of October are to be channelled to Pink Unity. “These scarves can be purchased at any of our seven (7) outlets or online. There’s so much to be done and we all can lend a hand to make this world a better place,” said Mr. Leslie. VARIANTE’s involvement is not only limited to the design, sale and donation to Pink Unity. “The best part is that VARIANTE always makes sure that the survivors are involved in the design creation and participate in our activities, which creates a close bond” exclaimed Puan Lena.
This year saw two (2) prominent personalities share the stage to present their own cancer-related stories. Raja Azura, Malaysia’s actress and singer spoke of her experience. She was followed by the evergreen jazz singer Noryn Aziz who wowed the audience with her evergreen jazz number. She dedicated her song to all cancer caregivers and cancer survivors. Puan Lena Abdullah also took the stage to share her experience in Pink Unity.
At the close of the event, Puan Lena once again expressed her gratitude by thanking VARIANTE for their continuous support. Pink Unity has done well in their collaboration with various organisations to educate and create cancer awareness, but most importantly in providing support and hope for a life after cancer. VARIANTE is exemplary as an SME in its sincere desire to create awareness of cancer and to give back to the cancer society consistently for almost a decade.
