Miss Clarea Au is the founder of CL Group (Holdings) Limited and Chairman of CAAL Capital Limited. A seasoned financial investor and successful entrepreneur, she is also the Director of Goldie Trend Limited and its subsidiary Soul Beauty Hong Kong.
Miss Au has been actively involved in various community and charity activities. She has served as Director of Yan Oi Tong from 2007 to 2009 and has been its Vice Chairman since 2009. In July 2010, together with Yan Oi Tong, Miss Au made a donation to PolyU to found The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Yan Oi Tong Au Suet Ming Child Development Centre for Giftedness and has since played an active role on the Steering Committee of the Centre, which promotes the development and learning of gifted children, and meeting the needs for related services of the society.
Bearing the well-being of the elderly in mind, Miss Au made a very considerable donation to establish the Yan Oi Tong Clarea Au Eldergarten, providing assessment services, medication, day-care and training programmes for low-income Alzheimer’s disease patients and their families to ease their pressure. The Eldergarten also works closely with the Charles K. Kao Foundation with a view to improving patients’ quality of life.
Miss Au is a fervent supporter of PolyU. She is an active member of the Fund-raising Committee of the PolyU Council and generously sponsored the PolyU-Cheong Lee fund-raising golf tournament in January 2013. She rendered further support to PolyU for the establishment of the Clarea Au Endowed Professorship in Energy for conducting research to develop sustainable, clean and renewable energy sources to benefit society. Miss Au is also keen to broaden the vision of PolyU students by regularly sharing her invaluable work and personal experience.
Miss Au has been serving the community in various capacities, including as Honorary Advisor of the Kowloon Women’s Organizations Federation, Honorary Chairman of Tuen Mun District Junior Police Call, Honorary President of Tuen Mun District Fire Safety Ambassador, Committee Member of the Correctional Services Children’s Education Trust Investment Advisory Board, Committee Member of the Sub-Committee on Promotion of Volunteering in Community Organizations of the Social Welfare Department, Committee Member of the Long-term Prison Sentences Review Board of the Security Bureau, Vice Chairman of Scout Performing Arts Committee, Chairman of Hong Kong Scout Orchestra of the Scout Association of Hong Kong.
Chairman Yang, University Council Members, President Tong and Honoured Guests,
It is my great honour to receive this Fellowship from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. It not only represents the recognition by PolyU of my commitment to serving the community, but also provides a strong impetus to drive me forward.
“Caring for the aged and the young” has always been my principle in serving the community. It is a shame to see many gifted children, especially those from grassroots families, failing to reach their full potential due to the lack of proper timely recognition of their talents. In view of this, I made a donation to PolyU to establish The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Yan Oi Tong Au Suet Ming Child Development Centre for Giftedness in 2010. The Centre focuses on providing prioritized free-of-charge assessments and professional training to children, catering to their special needs and thereby helping build a better tomorrow for them. This vision to serve the young in need has deepened my understanding of PolyU.
Today, Hong Kong is facing the problem of an aging society, in which Alzheimer’s disease is becoming increasingly common. In 2012, I had the opportunity to collaborate with the Charles K. Kao Foundation (named after Professor Charles Kao, Nobel Prize Winner) and took steps to further their vision of providing enhanced care to Alzheimer’s disease patients. With the founding of the Yan Oi Tong Clarea Au Eldergarten at Shun Tin Estate in Kwun Tong, the living quality of Alzheimer’s disease patients has improved through the provision of assessment, day-care and training services to the patients and their caregivers. The Eldergarten is a major step forward in my dream of “caring for the aged.”
Apart from serving the community, I am also concerned about environmental conservation. In 2013, I joined PolyU’s Endowed Professorship Scheme, and partnered with the University to establish the Clarea Au Endowed Professorship in Energy for advancing research to further the development of sustainable, clean and renewable energy sources to benefit society.
After more than three quarters of a century, through its remarkable achievements in nurturing professional talents and conducting research with practical value, PolyU has established itself as a leading application-oriented university in Hong Kong. I am most pleased to be invited to join the Fund-raising Committee of the PolyU Council and contribute to the long-term development of the University. I would like to take this opportunity to thank President Tong, members of the Senior Management of the University, and all those PolyU staff with whom I have had the pleasure to work with. I will uphold my principle of “caring for the aged and the young” and join hands with PolyU to contribute to the development of Hong Kong. Lastly, I look forward to seeing PolyU’s continued development in its quest to reach its next level of excellence and to become one of the topmost universities in the world.
Thank you very much.
