CapitaLand recognised as Champion of Good
CapitaLand has been recognised as a Champion of Good by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) today for being an exemplary leader and multiplier of corporate giving in Singapore. The Champion of Good status is part of the NVPC’s Company of Good programme that exists to inspire and activate companies to do good. CapitaLand has been a Company of Good founding member since 2016.
Mr Lim Ming Yan, President & Group Chief Executive Officer of CapitaLand Limited and Director of CapitaLand Hope Foundation, said: “Being conferred the Champion of Good status underscores CapitaLand’s unwavering commitment to giving back to the community sustainably. CapitaLand recognises that the long-term success of our business is closely intertwined with the health and prosperity of the communities we operate in. In line with our credo “Building People, Building Communities”, we are focused, committed and strategic in our corporate philanthropy efforts - from the way we leverage our expertise to help the community, integrating the communities’ needs in the design of our buildings, to supporting underprivileged children’s needs through our CapitaLand Hope Foundation and galvanising our employees to play their part for the community.”
Mr Lim said: “Beyond donations associated with charitable giving, we focus on giving time and attention to the children beneficiaries through advocating volunteerism. CapitaLand was one of the first companies in Singapore to formalise three days of Volunteer Service Leave for all staff. The policy has been successful in encouraging our staff to take part in volunteer activities. Last year, over 2,100 staff tapped on this policy, putting in more than 16,000 hours in volunteer activities. We will continue with our efforts to raise the bar in corporate giving.”
"Being conferred the Champion of Good status underscores CapitaLand’s unwavering commitment to giving back to the community sustainably. CapitaLand recognises that the long-term success of our business is closely intertwined with the health and prosperity of the communities we operate in. In line with our credo “Building People, Building Communities”, we are focused, committed and strategic in our corporate philanthropy efforts."
Key highlights of CapitaLand’s philanthropic activities in 2017
CapitaLand’s corporate giving journey started more than a decade ago. Since then, through CapitaLand’s philanthropic arm, CapitaLand Hope Foundation (CHF), it has built long-term relationships with the public and non-profit sectors to benefit disadvantaged children in the communities it operates in.
CapitaLand’s international efforts include its volunteer expedition to Batangas City in the Philippines in May to build new homes for 20 underprivileged families in its first eco village, and its volunteer expedition to Inner Mongolia in September to improve the learning and development environment of over 300 students of CapitaLand Xingfuzhilu Hope School.
The inaugural CapitaLand Young Architect Programme was also successfully conducted. On the 3 November, CapitaLand announced the winners of its CapitaLand Young Architect Programme, whereby 70 secondary students from low-income families went through a three-month mentorship programme centred on participatory design, to understand the spatial needs of users of various community spaces. The Community Development Councils are conducting feasibility studies to explore implementing some of the students’ winning designs in their respective districts. Aside from having their projects on display at an exhibition in IMM outlet mall, five students from the inaugural cohort who clinched the Young Architect Award, will each be rewarded with a special student immersion programme with CapitaLand during the December school holidays. The immersion programme involves experiential tours of CapitaLand’s iconic properties in Singapore and the opportunity to work with project development experts from CapitaLand. The students’ designs were unveiled at CapitaLand’s annual corporate philanthropy event - My Schoolbag. With the support of funds from CHF, this year, My Schoolbag will give 1,000 underprivileged children new schoolbags, school and daily necessities as well as enjoy fun edutainment activities under the guidance of CapitaLand staff volunteers.
In August, CapitaLand added CapitaLand Giving Marketplace to its slew of corporate giving activities to further promote the spirit of giving back to the community amongst staff and tenants. At the inaugural CapitaLand Giving Marketplace, social enterprises and charities promoted their causes and products while staff and tenants of CapitaLand shopped for a good cause and learnt about volunteering opportunities. For every item purchased or donations made at the marketplace, CHF donated S$3 to participating charities and S$3 to Rainbow Centre Singapore, CapitaLand Commercial Trust’s adopted charity for 2017. During the event, guest speakers from NVPC and the Community Chest also shared more about the art of giving, effective giving and meaningful volunteerism.
In June, CapitaLand donated S$300,000 to benefit six children’s charities under President’s Challenge 2017, as part of Singapore’s NS50 celebrations. The #ChiongForCharity campaign received close to 90,000 public pledges to commemorate National Service and benefit underprivileged children.
Last year, CHF donated over S$2.4 million to benefit underprivileged children in Singapore and other countries where it operates, and contributed close to 20,000 hours of service to the community. In recognition of its strong commitment to helping underprivileged children and advocacy for volunteerism, CapitaLand has received the Community Spirit Excellence Award from the People’s Association for three consecutive years since 2015.
