Shoppers can now give to charity through CAPITASTAR
CAPITASTAR members can donate STAR$® to My Schoolbag in aid of underprivileged children
Singapore, 12 June 2015 – Are you a CAPITASTAR member? If your STAR$® are set to expire on 30 June 2015 and you want to donate them to a good cause, you can pledge your STAR$® to CapitaLand Hope Foundation (CHF), the philanthropic arm of CapitaLand. CHF will then use your donation to benefit underprivileged children in Singapore through CapitaLand’s “My Schoolbag” programme.
Managed by CapitaLand Mall Asia, CapitaLand Limited’s wholly-owned shopping mall business unit, CAPITASTAR is the multi-mall, multi-store rewards programme with the largest mall network in Singapore. CAPITASTAR members earn rewards in the form of STAR$® – on top of existing credit card or store rewards – for their purchases at over 2,000 stores in 17 CapitaLand malls1 across Singapore. With the STAR$® earned, members can redeem CapitaVouchers which can be used at participating retailers in CapitaLand malls. Started in November 2011, CAPITASTAR is now available in all five countries where CapitaLand malls operate – Singapore, China, Malaysia, Japan and India – and has registered more than 1.5 million members.
In line with CAPITASTAR’s redemption policy, STAR$® collected from January 2014 to December 2014 will expire on 30 June 2015. CAPITASTAR members who have unredeemed STAR$® by the expiry deadline can opt to donate them to CHF by simply replying to the SMS sent out by CAPITASTAR by 30 June 2015.
All the donations received by CHF through this initiative will go towards funding My Schoolbag in Singapore this year. My Schoolbag is a key annual CapitaLand corporate social responsibility programme, whereby schoolbags containing school and daily necessities are given to underprivileged children in the five countries where its malls operate. To date, My Schoolbag has enriched the lives of close to 90,000 children, including 5,200 children in Singapore.
Mr Chan Kong Leong, Head of Regional Investment, Asset & Fund Management, CapitaLand Mall Asia, said: “As the largest rewards programme by any mall manager in Singapore, CAPITASTAR is constantly looking into ways to provide our shoppers with more varied and customised experiences, including the opportunity to give back to the community.
We are thus delighted to partner CapitaLand Hope Foundation to provide a donation platform for CAPITASTAR members to be a part of the My Schoolbag programme. With this initiative, our members will get to see every of their STAR$® put to meaningful use. There are already plans to extend this CAPITASTAR donation initiative to our members outside of Singapore.”
Mr Tan Seng Chai, CapitaLand Limited’s Group Chief Corporate Officer and Executive Director of CapitaLand Hope Foundation, said: “CapitaLand Hope Foundation is pleased to be working with CAPITASTAR to engage their members in giving back to the community collectively. All donations collected through this initiative will go towards helping the young beneficiaries of My Schoolbag. Such an initiative underscores the role that CapitaLand shopping malls play in enriching the lives of the people and communities they serve. From tenants and shoppers to staff volunteers and beneficiaries, we will continue our active community engagement efforts to foster a caring and inclusive society.”
My Schoolbag first began in Singapore in 2009 as “Back to School” with 200 children beneficiaries. Following the inaugural event’s success, the programme was rebranded as My Schoolbag in 2010 and held in Singapore and China. Since 2011, My Schoolbag has been held annually in the five countries where CapitaLand malls operate, namely Singapore, China, Malaysia, Japan and India.
1The 17 participating CapitaLand malls are Bedok Mall, Bugis+, Bugis Junction, Bukit Panjang Plaza, Clarke Quay, Funan DigitaLife Mall, IMM Building, JCube, Junction 8, Lot One Shoppers’ Mall, Plaza Singapura, Raffles City Singapore, Rivervale Mall, Sembawang Shopping Centre, Tampines Mall, The Star Vista and Westgate.