I took a glance at her office around me. It was a beautiful space, with bright and colourful campaign posters adorning its walls.
Portions of the office were set aside to display other works from their clients’ past advertising campaigns. There is no doubt that these people live and breathe creativity.
Do such artsy efforts spill over to the type of initiative she organises every year?
Not necessarily, she said.
One year, Ms Lim paired up with Singapore rapper and actor Sheikh Haikel – who owned the now-defunct halal burger joint Fatpapas at the time – to run an in-store promotion. She added that the pair coincidentally shares the same birthday on Oct 10.
That year, part of the profits from the burger sales went to supporting Clarity Singapore, a mental health charity.
Another year, Ms Lim spent her birthday volunteering at a special needs school in India. She made and sold notebooks there, and the proceeds went towards keeping the school running and supporting people with special needs.
The project takes on a creative slant some years – especially after her agency DSTNCT began adopting the project as part of its annual corporate social responsibility initiative.
Together, they have committed to pooling their creative juices for good.
In 2022, the company’s creatives came on board to run a mini art gallery of sorts. They created and sold art to raise funds for non-profit organisation Limitless, which seeks to empower young people and to end powerlessness caused by poverty, mental illness and social inequality.
Ms Lim does not closely track the reach of her annual efforts but she estimated that they have helped more than 5,000 people and raised more than S$15,000 over the 12 years.
“Ultimately, the core of the initiative is to create a normalcy of giving, a culture of serving others,” she said.
At least two other friends have been inspired to start their own birthday initiatives as a result.
