Sebastian Gunawan and School Dropouts

Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB Foundation) Receives  Donations Raised through Ticket Sales for Indonesian Youth

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jakarta, 16 June 2011 – This year, through his annual grand fashion show entitled “The Reflections of You”, Sebastian Gunawan continuously shows his commitment to contribute to Indonesia through Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB Foundation). The fashion show, which was sponsored by Aqua will donate ticket sales to YCAB Foundation to support the education of underprivileged and school dropouts.

The event which was held in the Ball Room of Hotel Mulia Senayan last night (06/15) was a collaboration between Aqua and Sebastian Gunawan for the “Aqua Reflections” product launching. YCAB Foundation was chosen to be recipient of a donation raised through ticket sales of the ”charity row” in Sebastian Gunawan annual fashion show.

As one of Indonesia’s most prominent designers, Sebastian Gunawan who began his career in 1993 has always had a passion for philantrophy, through his involvement in numerous charity events. Sebastian Gunawan has worked with YCAB Foundation since 2005; in his annual fashion shows, i.e. The Classic Divine (2005), Rendezvouz (2006), Sweet and Swinging (2007), and Femmale Fatale (2010); the glamorous fashion shows were also acts of charity – during which ticket sales proceeds were donated to YCAB Foundation programs.

“Sebastian Gunawan and I formed our friendship upon his return from Italy in the early 1990s. Our desire to work together stemmed from that friendship, and then we hold our first joint charity fashion show in Indonesia which later inspired a lot of other people. This charity concept allows Seba to involve and inspire his fans to contribute to the society and get them to start paying serious attention to help school dropouts in Indonesia,” said Founder/CEO YCAB Foundation Veronica Colondam.

YCAB Foundation will allocate the donations to its holistic education programs and entrepreneurship development for underprivileged and school dropouts in Indonesia. Since 2005, the donations raised through  Seba’s annual fashion shows already reached Rp 2,078,500,000 – which went to YCAB Foundation programs under the House of Learning (Rumah Belajar). Through the annual fashion shows, the community has helped send more than 1,000 underprivileged children and school dropouts back to school, and produce hundreds of graduates who are now financially independent.

“In order to uphold accountability, YCAB Foundation always shows the videos of the programs funded by Seba’s annual fashion shows in the following year. YCAB Foundation always allocates 100 percent of the donation to fund the programs – a tradition that also signifies our commitment to uphold accountability,” said Veronica.

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