CapitaLand pledges S$300,000 donation to President’s Challenge 2016 with #EatSnapGive
Charity campaign launched in conjunction with Worldwide InstaMeet 14 to rally Instagram community to promote spirit of giving through food
Singapore, 17 September 2016 – CapitaLand Hope Foundation (CHF), the philanthropic arm of CapitaLand, has committed to donate up to S$300,000 to six charities under President’s Challenge 2016 (PC2016) through #EatSnapGive – an Instagram charity campaign themed on food running from 17 September to 21 October 2016 that was launched today in conjunction with Worldwide InstaMeet 14 (WWIM14)1 .
#EatSnapGive recognises that few themes are as universal as food, and few social media trends are as ubiquitous as food photography. In line with its credo of ‘Building People. Building Communities.’, CapitaLand will be rallying the Instagram community to promote the spirit of giving through the sharing of social posts about how food holds special meaning to everyone, whether as individuals or as a community; and to encourage people to think of food as the ingredients that build a more cohesive, resilient and caring Singapore.
Mr Lim Ming Yan, President & Group CEO of CapitaLand Limited and Director of CHF, said: “It is with the belief that food holds deeper meaning that CapitaLand is launching #EatSnapGive to bring people together through the universal theme of food. Beyond providing us with sustenance and nourishing our bodies, food also brings us joy and comfort when we feel down and is the perfect reason for us to come together as families, friends and communities, especially true in a foodie nation such as Singapore. CapitaLand is building on these familiar themes of food for nutrition, food for therapy and food for bonding to create a platform for Singaporeans to give back to the underprivileged by supporting President’s Challenge 2016.”
Mr Lim added: “CapitaLand knows how important it is for buildings to provide a warm and assuring stage for people to come together and strengthen relationships against the backdrop of food. Be it catching up with old friends at one of the many unique dining concepts at our malls; unwinding with colleagues over coffee at a café in our office properties; a homely meal with family in our serviced apartments while on vacation; or a barbeque with neighbours at our residential properties, our buildings are places where people flourish and connect. #EatSnapGive is another example of how CapitaLand seeks to always provide the stage where our customers can come together and construct moments to call their own.”
CHF will donate S$300,000 in total to six charities under PC2016 namely, Autism Association (Singapore); Focus on the Family Singapore; Muhammadiyah Welfare Home; KK Hospital Health Endowment Fund; South Central Community Family Service Centre; and Yong-en Care Centre. The donations will support programmes run by the charities that directly benefit underprivileged children in Singapore. More information on the selected charities and programmes to benefit from CHF’s donation can be found in Annex A.
Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, President of the Republic of Singapore and Patron of President’s Challenge, said: “CapitaLand has been a long-term supporter for the President’s Challenge. I am delighted that it has once again come up with a creative and innovative platform to engage the community in doing good. By organising this social campaign, CapitaLand is staying true to the spirit of President’s Challenge, which is to rally Singaporeans from all walks of life to do their part in caring for the less fortunate. The campaign is an excellent example of how corporations can contribute in a fun way towards building a caring and cohesive society, and how the power of digital social media can be harnessed to do good. I would like to express my appreciation to CapitaLand for their steadfast support for the President’s Challenge through the years.”
Rallying the local Instagram communities
CapitaLand has rallied three of the largest Instagram communities in Singapore – Explore Singapore, SGIG and InstaSG – behind #EatSnapGive in a powerful statement of support for local charitable causes. In conjunction with WWIM14, Instagrammers gathered at The Star Vista and Mediacorp Campus to participate in food-themed InstaMeets, where they learned more about #EatSnapGive and how their participation in the campaign will help earn donations for the six charities under PC2016. Please refer to Annex B for more information on these three Instagram communities.
Campaign mechanics
To create a simple platform for the public to give back to the community, CapitaLand will be encouraging the public to upload food-related photos from 17 September to 21 October 2016 to earn a total of S$300,000 in donations from CHF in support of PC2016. During the campaign, all food-related photos uploaded to Instagram with the hashtag #EatSnapGive by public Instagram accounts will earn a S$2 donation from CHF. Similarly, for every ‘like’ and ‘comment’ on that post, CHF will donate S$2 to PC2016. To illustrate:
One photo with 291 ‘likes’ and 8 ‘comments’ – (1 + 291 + 8) X S$2 = S$600 donation
As an added bonus, food-related photos uploaded to Instagram with the hashtag #EatSnapGive and with the location tag of any CapitaLand property in Singapore2 will earn at a rate of 2.5 times – a S$5 donation each for the post and all associated ‘likes’ and ‘comments’. To illustrate:
One photo tagged in Raffles City Singapore with 291 ‘likes’ and 8 ‘comments’ – (1 + 291 + 8) X S$5 = S$1,500 donation
Steadfastly supporting the community beyond just donations
It has however gone beyond philanthropic donations to creating platforms for the public to give back to the underprivileged. CapitaLand ran the #100KHopeHours global volunteer initiative last year to encourage the public to give their time to their community. The initiative received an overwhelming response, garnering over 200,000 pledged volunteer hours – more than double the initial target.
In 2015, CHF donated over S$2.4 million to benefit underprivileged children in Singapore and other countries where it operates, and contributed close to 17,300 hours of service to the community. In recognition of its strong commitment to helping underprivileged children and advocacy for volunteerism, CapitaLand was conferred the inaugural President’s Award for Volunteerism and Philanthropy (Corporate) last year by President Tony Tan Keng Yam. Earlier this year, CapitaLand was also made a Founding Member of the Company of Good, a programme developed by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre and the Singapore Business Federation Foundation that aims to drive corporate giving in Singapore. Founding Members are deemed to be trailblazers in championing and driving corporate giving in Singapore.
1 14th edition of a global ground-up movement announced periodically by Instagram to encourage Instagram communities the world over to explore their creativity around a given theme. In coming up with these grassroots initiatives, Instagrammers make new connections and friendships, and celebrate the common humanity that unites them.
Annex A
SIX CHARITIES UNDER PRESIDENT’S CHALLENGE 2016 TO BENEFIT FROM CAPITALAND HOPE FOUNDATION’S S$300,000 DONATION
1) Autism Association (Singapore) – Play for Autism 101 at Eden School
Autism Association (Singapore) is a Voluntary Welfare Organisation dedicated to supporting individuals with autism and helping them lead meaningful and quality lives in society. It aims to initiate, organise and support the provision of a broad spectrum of services for people with autism in Singapore. Such services include education, vocational and life skills training, and day activity services.
Eden School, originally named Singapore Autism School, was set up by Autism Association (Singapore) in 2005. It aims to provide a quality autism-friendly education leading to meaning, dignity and independence; and to become a vocational school of choice, maximising the potential and quality of life of its students and staff.
The Play for Autism 101 Programme is a natural progression from Eden School’s Play@Recess Programme which was started in 2013. The school aims to set up a library of toy resources that staff can use to engage students in learning a variety of skills. Play creates opportunities for students to problem-solve and understand the world around them, develop language skills and improve social interactions. Funding through President’s Challenge will be used to equip the school’s Toy Resource Library with furniture and toys with different play levels and themes to better engage the students in learning new skills.
2) Focus on the Family Singapore – Date with Dad Prison Programme
Focus on the Family Singapore is dedicated to helping families thrive. It partners individuals and organisations to promote strong families through differentiated programmes, trusted resources, family counselling and content placement in various media.
The Date with Dad Prisons Programme helps incarcerated fathers build a closer relationship with their daughters by providing opportunities for the fathers to participate in their daughter’s growing up years and be involved in their developmental milestones. It also prepares and equips these fathers with the skills to reconnect and reintegrate with their family and restore family connections. Funding through President’s Challenge will support the continuation of this programme.
3) Muhammadiyah Welfare Home – Parent-Child Bonding Programme
Muhammadiyah Welfare Home was set up in 1989 for children and youth aged 10 to 18 years old who are juvenile offenders, abused, neglected or are beyond parental control. Their period of stay is from one to three years, and it currently has 77 residents under its care. It currently runs nine programmes, including tuition, religious programmes, team building and recreational and enrichment programmes, vocational training, programmes for parents, and voluntary non-residential counselling programmes for youth-at-risk.
It is in the longer-term interest of the residents to mend familial relationships and deepen the bonds as they should eventually return to their families, instead of growing up away from their families in the Home. Funding through President’s Challenge will allow the Home to organise activities that promote bonding between residents and their families, e.g. Ramadan and Hari Raya celebrations, Residents’ Achievement Day, parent-child learning journeys and outings. This provides opportunities for interaction between parent and child, especially during major Muslim celebrations.
4) KK Hospital Health Endowment Fund
KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital was founded in 1858, and has evolved into a regional leader in Obstetrics, Gynaecology, Paediatrics and Neonatology. Today, the 830-bed hospital is a referral centre providing tertiary services to handle high-risk conditions in women and children.
The KKH Health Endowment Fund helps needy patients through programmes focusing on improving women’s and children’s health and the provision of financial assistance to needy patients. Funding through President’s Challenge will be channeled to the General Fund, which provides financial assistance to needy patients seeking medical treatments in the hospital. These needy children and women suffer from chronic illness, cancer, gynaecological conditions and medically complex pregnancies. On average, the General Fund supports over 300 patients in a year.
5) South Central Community Family Service Centre – Family Partnership Platform
South Central Community Family Service Centre (FSC) has been serving low-income families in Singapore’s south-central community since 1969. Using community-centric approaches, the FSC mobilises community assets and strengths to support low-income families out of poverty. To date, the FSC has served 3,500 beneficiaries.
Funding through President’s Challenge will go towards the Family Partnership Platform (FPP), a new initiative where Family Partners journey with Member Families (low-income families identified through the FSC network) as they work through their financial, employment or relationship issues. Family Partners are volunteers from the community seeking to support, motivate and create access to opportunities that enable Member Families to move towards financial self-sufficiency.
The FPP adopts a novel approach of facilitating families to mentor low-income families so as to build a supportive environment and encourage opportunities for change. While the main role of Family Partners is to befriend Member Families, Family Partners are also encouraged to expand the social networks of Member Families, e.g. recommending the children for internship opportunities by way of the Family Partners' contacts. Family Partners may also explore sponsorships through the FSC to enable the children from the Member Families to reach their fullest potential and in turn help their families out of poverty.
6) Yong-en Care Centre – Single Mother and Children Support Group Programme
Established in 1996, Yong-en Care Centre moved to its current premises in Chinatown in 2000, where it provides value-added community-based services and support for needy individuals and families in Chinatown and beyond.
It runs a Single Mother and Children Support Group Programme which seeks to maintain and improve the emotional and mental health of single mothers and their children. This helps strengthen family bonds and the building of a resilient family. Funding through President’s Challenge will help sustain the support group as well as the financial assistance that is rendered to the single mothers on the programme.
ANNEX B
About Explore Singapore
81.4k followers3
Explore Singapore is a team of visual storytellers sharing valuable information on interesting locations, happenings, culture, and people in Singapore to the global audience.
Mohamed Herwin Bin Johari, Founder and Operations Director of Explore Singapore, said: "Explore Singapore is a brand that invites everyone to uncover unique sides of Singapore and its people. #EatSnapGive is a great way to get the public to share a message of love and care through food on our Instagram platform. We are excited to stand with CapitaLand on this campaign to hit the $300,000 target for the President's Challenge with everyone's support.”
About InstaSG
15.4k followers3
InstaSG is the first Instagrammers community group in Singapore. It is run by a group of volunteer Instagrammers, and they have regular photowalks, meetups, contests, workshops, exhibitions and other social activities, in and out of the social platform. For more than five years it has been supported by leading local and global brands, but the objective is still to have it as non-profit and non-commercial community group, as all the sponsorship benefits are passed to the followers.
Santo Thie, Founder and Advisor of InstaSG, said: “InstaSG believes that Instagrammers can go beyond taking great pictures and getting recognition for their talent. Instagrammers can tap on the power of Instagram to build the community. Our #communityfirst principle also resonates with CapitaLand’s vision to build people and communities, hence we appreciate the opportunity to be involved in this one-of-a-kind social campaign, and we believe that our Instagrammers are excited to support this good cause.”
About SGIG
13k followers3
Singapore Instagram (SGIG) is a like-minded community of Instagrammers from Singapore who meets up regularly to catch up, inspire, take photos and exchange ideas.
Ivan Kuek, Founder of SGIG, said: “Instagram has been an amazing platform to share snippets of our lives and a source of inspiration for many. I believe that as a community, we can do greater things together to support a good cause, a charity or the community as a whole. CapitaLand's #EatSnapGive initiative allows us to give back to the less fortunate in Singapore when we post a food photo on Instagram. As a community, Singapore Instagram @SGIG is glad to be part of this meaningful project and I highly encourage all Instagrammers in Singapore to open their hearts and participate in #EatSnapGive.”