SINGAPORE, Dec. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- This October, Marina One hosted a meaningful Mental Wellness Month event in the heart of Singapore's CBD. HICC Pet was pleased to participate as one of the contributing partners, offering pet-supported interactions to enhance the community wellness initiative. Marina One is a mixed-use development in Marina Bay, comprising Grade-A office towers, luxury residences, and a retail podium. One of its signature features is the Green Heart, a biodiverse garden courtyard designed as an urban sanctuary. As a hub for major corporate offices with a strong focus on sustainability and community engagement, Marina One provided an ideal environment for this wellness initiative.
The event was built on a simple belief: when pets feel clean and comfortable, they naturally help people feel at ease — a small but meaningful way to support mental clarity in a high-pressure work setting.
To prepare for the event, HICC Pet recruited 12 volunteer dogs from our community through social media outreach. Across the two sessions, more than 50 participants — including office tenants, residents, and public visitors — joined the experience, reflecting strong interest in mindful pet-and-human wellness. Attendees spent guided time with the volunteer dogs, enjoying moments of emotional relief while exploring HICC Pet's gentle cleaning solutions through hands-on demonstrations. Using HICC Pet glove wipes, participants were able to interact safely with the dogs, creating shared moments of comfort and relaxation for both humans and pets. This reinforced HICC Pet's mission that wellness can begin with simple, caring routines that strengthen the bond between people and their pets.
The campaign also achieved wide digital and on-site visibility through Marina One's building media, tenant outreach channels, and lobby screens, helping to raise awareness of the value of pet-supported wellness within the community. Online, the event continued to gain traction, supported by strong follower engagement (83%) and extensive story-driven amplification.
Building on this momentum, HICC Pet will be launching its Membership Program this November. The HICC Pet Membership Program turns customers into a loyal community, connects our online and offline worlds, and strengthens our mission of helping pets live cleaner, comfier, healthier, and happier.
Visitors can register at https://sg.hiccpet.com/pages/club-introduction and enjoy member-exclusive benefits such as a free birthday gift, home grooming class, and venue rental discounts. We also welcome everyone to visit the Marina One HICC Pet showroom to experience even more member perks.
Contact:
marketing.sg@hiccpet.com
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
HICC Pet × Marina One - Mental Wellness Month: Healing Moments with Dogs at HICC Pet Showroom
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On her first day as ECW Director, Maysa Jalbout visits Lebanon to reaffirm ECW's commitment to the country's children, announce new emergency funding and mobilise urgent international support.
BEIRUT, April 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Education Cannot Wait (ECW) today reaffirmed their strong partnership with Lebanon's Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) to protect the right to education for children impacted by the rapidly escalating crisis in Lebanon.
During her first official mission as Director of ECW, Maysa Jalbout met with H.E. Minister Rima Karami, alongside the Inter-Agency Support Group (IASG) Education Sector co-leads UNICEF and Save the Children and civil society partners, to assess urgent needs and coordinate a swift, collective response to the crisis.
Lebanon is facing a severe humanitarian situation, with over one million people displaced and more than 250,000 children across the public school system experiencing disruption to their education. This latest escalation compounds years of overlapping crises including– economic collapse, the Beirut port explosion and the current escalation of regional conflict.
As part of this joint effort, ECW is launching an immediate emergency response that will focus on the areas most affected by the escalation of hostilities, ensuring safe access to learning, psychosocial support and protection services for the most vulnerable children.
In parallel, ECW will initiate the development of a new multi-year investment, expected to begin within the next six months, aimed at strengthening the resilience of Lebanon's education system and supporting sustainable learning outcomes.
Together, these investments are expected to reach more than 150,000 crisis-affected children and adolescents, prioritising those most at risk of exclusion.
"Education Cannot Wait – the global fund for education in crises – stands with the children of Lebanon. Education during crises is essential to children's mental health, protection and future. With our partners, we will do everything we can to help 150,000 children resume their learning," said Maysa Jalbout, Director of ECW. "The needs are far greater than any single actor can meet. While many donors continue providing multi-year support for children's access to quality and inclusive education in Lebanon, the gaps remain significant and require urgent additional support to reach all children."
H.E. Minister Rima Karami underscored the urgency of the moment and the need for a new way of working.
"Lebanon has carried the weight of successive crises for over many decades and today we are once again called to protect our children and our future. This crisis is not only creating new needs – it is threatening the very stability that the Lebanese people have sacrificed so much to maintain. We must act collectively, and we must act differently. Our partnership with Education Cannot Wait reflects this commitment, and we call on the international community to stand with us in scaling this effort," said the Minister of Education and Higher Education.
The new ECW-supported response will be guided by the following key priorities:
- Localisation and national ownership, with a strong commitment to channelling significant resources through local actors and partners.
- Equity and inclusion, ensuring equitable access to education for all children, with a particular focus on girls, children with disabilities and those most marginalised.
- Learning continuity and quality, supporting both immediate access and improved learning outcomes over time.
- Well-being and protection, integrating mental health and psychosocial support into education responses.
- Flexibility and adaptability, enabling rapid adjustment to evolving needs on the ground.
The initiative also presents a critical opportunity for additional partners to step forward. ECW and MEHE are calling on donor governments, philanthropic organisations, and the private sector to match and scale this effort, ensuring that the response meets the full scope of needs.
Notes to Editors
- ECW's investments to date in Lebanon total US$25.8 million, reaching 826,000 crisis-affected children and adolescents with access to safe, inclusive and quality education – including those displaced by the escalating regional conflict.
- B-roll and high-resolution photos are available here.
ABOUT EDUCATION CANNOT WAIT
Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is the global fund for education in crises. The Fund provides rapid, flexible funding to locally led education responses that protect learning for refugee, internally displaced and other children, while strengthening systems to sustain learning and resilience in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. ECW works with governments, public and private funders, UN agencies, civil society organisations, and other humanitarian and development aid actors so that no child is left behind.
As global crises intensify and the education financing gap widens, ECW calls on public and private sector partners to scale up investments so millions more crisis-affected girls and boys can learn and rebuild their futures.
Additional information available at: www.educationcannotwait.org
For press inquiries:
Estefanía Jiménez: esjimenez@un-ecw.org
On her first day as ECW Director, Maysa Jalbout visits Lebanon to reaffirm ECW's commitment to the country's children, announce new emergency funding and mobilise urgent international support.
BEIRUT, April 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Education Cannot Wait (ECW) today reaffirmed their strong partnership with Lebanon's Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) to protect the right to education for children impacted by the rapidly escalating crisis in Lebanon.
During her first official mission as Director of ECW, Maysa Jalbout met with H.E. Minister Rima Karami, alongside the Inter-Agency Support Group (IASG) Education Sector co-leads UNICEF and Save the Children and civil society partners, to assess urgent needs and coordinate a swift, collective response to the crisis.
Lebanon is facing a severe humanitarian situation, with over one million people displaced and more than 250,000 children across the public school system experiencing disruption to their education. This latest escalation compounds years of overlapping crises including– economic collapse, the Beirut port explosion and the current escalation of regional conflict.
As part of this joint effort, ECW is launching an immediate emergency response that will focus on the areas most affected by the escalation of hostilities, ensuring safe access to learning, psychosocial support and protection services for the most vulnerable children.
In parallel, ECW will initiate the development of a new multi-year investment, expected to begin within the next six months, aimed at strengthening the resilience of Lebanon's education system and supporting sustainable learning outcomes.
Together, these investments are expected to reach more than 150,000 crisis-affected children and adolescents, prioritising those most at risk of exclusion.
"Education Cannot Wait – the global fund for education in crises – stands with the children of Lebanon. Education during crises is essential to children's mental health, protection and future. With our partners, we will do everything we can to help 150,000 children resume their learning," said Maysa Jalbout, Director of ECW. "The needs are far greater than any single actor can meet. While many donors continue providing multi-year support for children's access to quality and inclusive education in Lebanon, the gaps remain significant and require urgent additional support to reach all children."
H.E. Minister Rima Karami underscored the urgency of the moment and the need for a new way of working.
"Lebanon has carried the weight of successive crises for over many decades and today we are once again called to protect our children and our future. This crisis is not only creating new needs – it is threatening the very stability that the Lebanese people have sacrificed so much to maintain. We must act collectively, and we must act differently. Our partnership with Education Cannot Wait reflects this commitment, and we call on the international community to stand with us in scaling this effort," said the Minister of Education and Higher Education.
The new ECW-supported response will be guided by the following key priorities:
- Localisation and national ownership, with a strong commitment to channelling significant resources through local actors and partners.
- Equity and inclusion, ensuring equitable access to education for all children, with a particular focus on girls, children with disabilities and those most marginalised.
- Learning continuity and quality, supporting both immediate access and improved learning outcomes over time.
- Well-being and protection, integrating mental health and psychosocial support into education responses.
- Flexibility and adaptability, enabling rapid adjustment to evolving needs on the ground.
The initiative also presents a critical opportunity for additional partners to step forward. ECW and MEHE are calling on donor governments, philanthropic organisations, and the private sector to match and scale this effort, ensuring that the response meets the full scope of needs.
Notes to Editors
- ECW's investments to date in Lebanon total US$25.8 million, reaching 826,000 crisis-affected children and adolescents with access to safe, inclusive and quality education – including those displaced by the escalating regional conflict.
- B-roll and high-resolution photos are available here.
ABOUT EDUCATION CANNOT WAIT
Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is the global fund for education in crises. The Fund provides rapid, flexible funding to locally led education responses that protect learning for refugee, internally displaced and other children, while strengthening systems to sustain learning and resilience in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. ECW works with governments, public and private funders, UN agencies, civil society organisations, and other humanitarian and development aid actors so that no child is left behind.
As global crises intensify and the education financing gap widens, ECW calls on public and private sector partners to scale up investments so millions more crisis-affected girls and boys can learn and rebuild their futures.
Additional information available at: www.educationcannotwait.org
For press inquiries:
Estefanía Jiménez: esjimenez@un-ecw.org
** This press release is distributed by PR Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **
Education Cannot Wait Launches Urgent Support to Protect Learning for Crisis-Affected Children in Lebanon
