A COMMITTEE of seven staff members helped to galvanise the rest of OCBC's Group Human Resources divisiom to raise more than $30,000 for The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund in just three hours.

Dishes, ranging from local curry dishes to Japanese bento sets, were quickly bought by colleagues and friends alike. Commercial vendors Barcook Bakery and Fairmont Hotel Bakery also participated in this year's event.

This 'charity cafe', titled 'Economic $timulus Package', was held earlier on Monday from 11.30am to 2.30pm. About 1,500 people attended the event held in OCBC Centre's conference room on Chulia Street.

This is the second time that OCBC's Group Human Resources division has organised a 'charity cafe' of this nature as a part of their fundraising efforts. The $30,000 they have raised so far exceeds the target they set for themselves based on last year's event, held in December.

'We want to play a part to improve the lives of children from lower income families, and donating to the ST School Pocket Money Fund is our way of making it possible for school-going children to receive pocket money to continue to attend school and receive a proper education,' said co-organiser Mr Adrian Khoo, vice-president of Group Human Resources at OCBC.

Mr Ngew Seng Poh, vice-president of operations support, Global Corporate Bank, at OCBC, said, 'I enjoyed the feeling of togetherness brought about by the event, which allowed our colleagues from various departments to come together to mingle and at the same time, do their part for the less fortunate.'