Spell for charity

Kenny Lim, Mattel Spokesperson.

A group of valiant celebrities took up the challenge to go against the World’s No. 1 Scrabble player to raise funds for charity. Children from the Shambala Kidz centre watched in awe as their celebrity heroes Jojo Struys, Deborah Priya Henry, Hannah Lo, Xandria Ooi, Ash Nair, Stephanie Chai and Rina Omar pitted their wits against World Scrabble Champ, Ganesh Asirvatham, at the Celebrity SCRABBLE® Challenge hosted by Mattel at Starbucks, Tropicana City Mall yesterday.
The Celebrity SCRABBLE® Challenge was a preamble to the World SCRABBLE® Championship which will be held in Malaysia in November this year. The World SCRABBLE® Championship is a coveted bi-annual international Scrabble tournament where over 100 of the best Scrabble players around the world vie for the Championship title and a total of USD30, 500 in prize money. This year, it will be held at the Zon Regency, Johor Bahru from November 26 to 29.

At the Celebrity SCRABBLE® Challenge, the celebrities managed to raise RM10, 000 for Shambala Kidz, the charity in aid of children from underprivileged homes and street children from Chow Kit. Shambala Kidz is a learning centre, dedicated to heart-based living –individuals relying on the intelligence of their hearts in concert with their minds to conduct their lives at home, school, play and eventually at work.

“Scrabble is my favourite game, and although it was a little daunting at first to go against the World’s best, it was great fun, especially knowing that you’re doing your part to make a child’s life better”, said Jojo Struys, well known host and producer of the programme “Jojo’s Ticket to Wellbeing” and “Health Buzz” for TV3 and NTV7.

Apart from announcing the World SCRABBLE® Championship at the event, Mattel also announced its partnership with Starbucks which will kick-off with a series of fun Scrabble Challenges called SCRABBLE® Challenge @ Starbucks.

SCRABBLE® Challenge @ Starbucks will take place every 2 weeks starting October at various selected Starbucks outlets within the Klang Valley, and is open to all Starbucks patrons and members of the public to compete and win special prizes courtesy of Mattel and Starbucks. Each Challenge is limited to 40 players only, whereas beginners and those who are just curious to see how the game is played are welcome to join a short workshop on Scrabble before the challenge begins. The SCRABBLE® Challenge @ Starbucks will take place on the 4th October at the Starbucks outlet of Tropicana City Mall, 18th October at Berjaya Times Square, 1st November at Centrepoint, Bandar Utama and 15th November at Bangsar Telawi 3.

“The SCRABBLE® Challenge @ Starbucks is an exciting platform to highlight Scrabble as a lifestyle game enjoyed by people from all walks of life. We chose Starbucks as our preferred partner as it is an ideal place to chill and have a good time playing board games with your friends and family,” said Kenny Lim, Brand Manager of Mattel.