Year of Celebrating Social Service Partners
Creating a wealth of impact for lower-income families
DBS Foundation is contributing $30 million over three years to fully sponsor community-funded portions of the ComLink+ Packages for Preschool and Home Ownership, to improve the lives of lower-income families with children living in rental flats.
About 8,500 children and 1,400 families will benefit from these two packages yearly. This is part of the bank’s $1 billion pledge to uplift vulnerable segments of society in the next decade.
Photo credit:
DBS
Beyond an anchor partner for the ComLink+ Packages, DBS is also befriending 200 ComLink+ families.
Recognising that these families can benefit from targeted support and financial knowledge, DBS is bringing their financial literacy expertise beyond workshops and weaving it into their volunteer befriending journey. This includes developing an activity booklet to impart financial literacy skills that seeks to equip ComLink+ children with the important skill of finance management which will serve them well in the future.
Photo
credit: DBS
Learn more about DBS' People of Purpose spirit here.
For organisations - Partner DBS here.
For individuals - Support ComLink+ here.
Joyful learning for children in need
In 2021, EtonHouse started Joyful Learning, a programme that helps children from lower-income families discover the wonderful world of books through storytelling. In turn, boosting their literacy, numeracy, self-expression, and motor skills.
Tapping into their expertise, EtonHouse preschool teachers and their volunteers, take turns weekly to run these sessions for up to 15 children at a time. After two sessions, each child selects a book to encourage them to continue reading at home.
Partnering with other charities and social service agencies, the programme has since benefitted over 100 children across six locations.
To encourage more volunteers to join hands and help expand Joyful Learning, they developed a Teacher Everywhere programme that equips volunteers with the skills to motivate children to read.
Photo credit: EtonHouse Community Fund
If you would like to support Joyful Learning by donating or volunteering, check out these links.
For individuals: https://www.ehcommunityfund.org.sg/programmes/joyful-learning
For organisations:
https://www.ehcommunityfund.org.sg/how-to-partner
Volunteer to support children with our social service partners:
Care Corner Singapore:
https://www.carecorner.org.sg/volunteer
Making an impact and serving up happiness
A brand built on happiness, McDonald's Singapore has always stood for strong family bonds and togetherness.
Driven by that purpose, McDonald's has partnered Families for Life since 2022 for their Family Mental Wellness campaign, aimed at reinforcing
the importance of parent's play in their children's lives. Over 100 parents attended McDonald's 'Triple P' (Positive Parenting Programme) seminars.
McDonald's also supports ComLink families through 2,400 sponsored Happy Family packs, filled
with meal vouchers and Happy Meal books and toys.
When asked how other corporate entities can make an impact in society, McDonald's Managing Director, Benjamin Boh reflects on staying true to one's values.
"Family and Inclusivity
are part of our core values. These translate into how we show care for the community, serving and taking care of families and those in need. So I'd say: stay true to your core values, to guide how you make meaningful impact on the community."
Read more about Families for Life's Family Wellness Campaign (In Collaboration with MCDONALD'S).
Creating jobs for persons with disabilities
Property developer Oxley Gem is recognised for their best practices in disability-inclusive employment, having received the Enabling Mark for two consecutive years.
It partners with Accor to manage hotels, Novotel and Mercure Singapore on Stevens, where they create a more accessible workplace for persons with disabilities in the hospitality industry.
Photo credit: Accor
They encouraged the hiring of more persons with disabilities, and put in place measures to create an inclusive work environment. This includes revised performance management, such as looking into better job fit and work scope for persons with disabilities.
They are also targeting a hire rate of 8% for persons with disabilities, a commitment made known across the entire organisation.
Giving young children a good start in life
As part of their “DO Good” culture of serving the community, Prudential Singapore partners with KidSTART to encourage good early childhood nutrition among lower-income households.
Prudential staff and financial consultants volunteer to pack and distribute fresh produce, such as fruits and vegetables to KidSTART families in a bid to introduce them to healthier food sources. Prudential also funds fresh produce packs for 1,500 families monthly.
In 2022, the insurer also launched a cooking show called “What’s for Lunch?” to encourage KidSTART families to cook and eat healthy. Helmed by a professional chef and host, the series shows how local favourites can be prepared in a more nutritious way.
Photo credit: Prudential Singapore
Learn more about Prudential’s DO Good initiatives here.
Find out how you can support KidSTART
Singapore -
For organisations: https://kidstart.sg/be-a-sponsor-or-donor/
For individuals: https://kidstart.sg/be-a-volunteer/
Powering up a culture of giving
Singapore’s grid operator, SP Group, believes in growing a culture of giving within its ranks. Staff at all levels actively volunteer towards diverse causes, from young children to tertiary students and seniors.
To inculcate such culture, they encourage staff to volunteer during working hours and even accord official leave for volunteering – leading to 8,000 total volunteering hours clocked by staff in 2022.
Photo credit:
SP Group
In 2021, the group’s contributions across donations, sponsorships and manpower totalled $2.1 million. Particularly, in their work with KidSTART to empower children in lower-income families and supporting child development.
Photo credit: SP Group
For Mr Giles Ee, Executive Engineer at SP Group, volunteering has taught him that even small things can make a giant impact. Whether it’s lending a listening ear to beneficiaries or organising simple events, each person has unique skills that can be used to help others.
To support KidStart Singapore
Individuals may visit: https://kidstart.sg/be-a-volunteer
Organisations may visit: https://kidstart.sg/be-a-sponsor-or-donor
Uplifting children from lower-income families
In 2022, UOL Group and Pan Pacific Hotels Group (UOL-PPHG) launched the UOL-PPHG Community Uplift Programme - offering new opportunities and experiences to children from lower-income families.
With the support of their partners and UOL tenants,
ComLink children learned K-pop dance moves and participated in a Clay Art Craft Workshop. The programme gives the children an opportunity to learn outside the classroom and develop well-rounded and diverse interests to broaden their experiences.
Families whose children exhibited exemplary improvements in their academic performance and learning attitude were offered family staycations to motivate them further.
PPHG also partnered Boon Lay Secondary School on an Education
and Career Guidance Mentorship Programme where students gained first-hand exposure to the hospitality career through an externship and fortnightly group mentoring sessions.
Photo credit: FLEX Mentoring
Programme
A post-programme survey revealed that the secondary students felt more confident in exploring various careers, and motivated to pursue higher education.
Learn more about UOL-PPHG's Community Uplift Programme by watching this video or reading this article.