CapitaLand holds inaugural Volunteer Day in Malaysia in conjunction with annual My Schoolbag CSR programme
More than 150 staff volunteers helped to refurbish three children charity homes in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Kuantan. 322 underprivileged children benefitted from donation of school and daily necessities worth RM165,000
Kuala Lumpur, 28 November 2017 – CapitaLand and CapitaLand Malaysia Mall REIT Management Sdn. Bhd. (CMRM), the manager of CapitaLand Malaysia Mall Trust (CMMT), jointly held the first CapitaLand Volunteer Day in Malaysia today, in conjunction with their annual signature corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme My Schoolbag. More than 150 Malaysia-based staff volunteers took part in the full-day volunteerism activity, which involved refurbishing children charity homes and giving out school and daily necessities to underprivileged children. This year, 322 children benefitted from a donation of RM165,000, which was made possible with funding from CapitaLand’s philanthropic arm, CapitaLand Hope Foundation (CHF).
CapitaLand launched CapitaLand Volunteer Day in 2013 in Singapore, during which the company provided staff time off from work to contribute towards enhancing the lives of underprivileged children. CapitaLand extended the initiative to its staff in China the following year, and to Vietnam in 2015. For the inaugural CapitaLand Volunteer Day in Malaysia today, staff volunteers were divided into teams to help refurbish three children charity homes in three states – namely Desa Amal Jireh in Selangor, House of Hope in Penang and Rapha Children’s Home in Kuantan. These homes cater to the educational and shelter needs of orphans and abandoned or abused children.
Mr Tan Seng Chai, Group Chief Corporate Officer of CapitaLand Limited and Executive Director of CHF, said: “CapitaLand has always held the belief that corporates can play an important role in contributing towards the building of an inclusive and caring society. Our corporate value of nurturing staff to build and care for the community is encapsulated in our company credo ‘Building People. Building Communities.’. By helping underprivileged children with their education and shelter needs, we hope to create a positive multiplier effect for their families and improve social mobility.”
Mr Tan added: “To encourage staff volunteerism, CapitaLand staff can take up to three days of paid Volunteer Service Leave each year. The CapitaLand Volunteer Day is another of our initiatives to encourage staff to dedicate their time to serve the community. This is consistent with our commitment to sustainable corporate giving, which goes beyond financial contributions. By promoting staff volunteerism, we hope to create a shared bond among our staff to contribute positively towards the society. Our aim is for CapitaLand to not just be a commercial success but also a company that gives back to and grows with the community.”
Ms Low Peck Chen, CEO of CMRM, said: “We are pleased to organise the first CapitaLand Volunteer Day in Malaysia, in conjunction with the seventh edition of My Schoolbag in Malaysia. Including this year, My Schoolbag in Malaysia has reached out to over 4,500 underprivileged children with a total donation of more than RM1 million. It is our hope that the schoolbags, as well as the school and daily necessities, will provide the underprivileged children with a head start as they embark on their learning journeys.”
Added Ms Low: “The first CapitaLand Volunteer Day in Malaysia brings greater focus to our malls’ efforts to support underprivileged children. On this day, more than 150 staff volunteers rolled up their sleeves to refurbish three children charity homes, with the objective of creating a conducive learning and play environment for the young ones. Through these efforts, we hope to inspire the children to realise their full potential, and empower them to create a better future for themselves and their families. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff volunteers, whose commitment to the programme embodies CapitaLand’s spirit of community development.”
The refurbishment works at the three children charity homes focused on creating a better living and learning environment. Enhancements include a cosy resource centre and study corner with tables, chairs, bookshelves, mats and cushions. In addition to the furniture, staff volunteers stocked the study corner with textbooks, reference books and dictionaries.
From 2009 to 2016, CHF donated over S$3.5 million (about RM10.9 million) to support My Schoolbag, reaching out to nearly 126,000 children beneficiaries. For 2017, CHF has committed more than S$600,000 (about RM1.86 million) to My Schoolbag, which will benefit over 21,000 children across Asia - Singapore, China, Malaysia, Japan, India and Vietnam.