Sassy Mama’s 2018 Helper Appreciation Party was Another Smashing Success!

Did you miss our 2018 Helper Appreciation Party? Here’s a recap of all the fun, with a big shoutout to all the families and sponsors who helped make it such a special day

Last Saturday over 300 people flocked to the beautiful Early Learning Centre at Australian International School to help Sassy Mama celebrate helpers and say thank you for all of the hard work that they do to support families in Singapore.

Click here to see our Facebook album, courtesy of Picspirations Photography 

This was our third year putting on an event for helpers, and the response was overwhelming: we reached our RSVP threshold in less than a week! In an effort to make the day more celebratory and inclusive, we didn’t give out awards this year, but instead increased our lucky draw and door prize haul and focused on putting together extra awesome goodie bags for every helper in attendance.

We’d once again like to thank major sponsors G&A Services employment agency (+65 6235 6265) and K.C. Dat Balikbayan Express for their financial support, as well as the balikbayan goodie bag vouchers and five balikbayan boxes that K.C. Dat donated for helper prizes.

The event kicked off with a beautiful music performance from AIS parents Belduo. After a quick welcome from Sassy Mama’s Senior Editor Kate McFarlane, the day’s MC, Robina “Bhing” Novato took over. A helper, published author, HOME volunteer, and all-around impressive lady, Bhing kept the crowd on their feet and smoothly took us through the afternoon’s performances, including dances by Higaonon Tribe Dancers (Philippines) and Novia Arluma (Indonesia). It was wonderful to see these helpers share their home cultures via beautiful costumes and music; a highlight of the day was watching some of the starstruck children they look after excitedly flock to their aunties when they’d finished.

Meanwhile, kiddos kept busy with super popular face painting and balloons courtesy of PartyMojo, along with some truly impressive storytelling and games from a Rumple & Friends superhero.

This freed up helpers to pamper themselves a bit, first with truly gorgeous makeovers from uber-talented makeup artists N.syz (our very own editorial staffer!), Suha Haris and Powderwowder, then with stunning personal portraits hand-drawn by fashion artist Alessia Landi (she also does events for Vogue, nbd!). And everyone had a great time at our Sassy Mama/AIS photo booth.

Throw in a family Bollywood dance session with Dance Embassy and yummy ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s, and it was an all-around fabulous day for everyone involved. Thank you so much to every family that took the time to come down and celebrate their helper, and we hope to see you all again next year!

Thank you also to these other sponsors and event participants:

• The New Luncher
• Avo & Co.
• Betty Crocker
• Epigram Books
• FittaActive
• FlexM
• My Pure Earth
• First Aid Tuition
• AIDHA
• HOME
• Cass Naomi Poh and Associates (AXA)
• Picspirations Photography