Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.
November 7, 2009
Hitachi and Starhub Partner Community Chest to Realise Beneficiaries’ Wishes this Festive Season
$6.6 million raised through annual Christmas Light Up since 1988
SINGAPORE, NOVEMBER 7, 2009 – Jermayne Chong, 18, from AWWA TEACH ME Services, has Spastic Quadriplegia. He wishes to pursue his interest in music. Vignesh Nagarajan, 13, a student with mild autism from the Grace Orchard School, aspires to have a career in the retail industry. Thanks to generous corporations, such as The Hitachi Group of Companies and StarHub, beneficiaries helped through social service programmes supported by Community Chest are a step closer to realising their wishes.
Mr S R Nathan, President of the Republic of Singapore, acknowledged the generous contributions of Hitachi and StarHub, which donated a total of $350,000 to Community Chest, at the 26th Annual Christmas Light-up switch-on ceremony organised by Community Chest and the Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA) held at ION Orchard.
Mr P Y Hwang, Vice-Chairman of Community Chest, thanked corporate donors for their strong commitment and trust, noting that they have been integral to the progress and development of social service programmes here, giving a lifeline to many beneficiaries. He added, “The Christmas festivity is an opportunity for Community Chest to engage not just fellow Singaporeans, but also our foreign friends who are working or holidaying here, in doing their bit for charity.”
Donations help beneficiaries realise their wishes
Since 1988, Community Chest has raised more than $6.6 million through the Christmas Light-up, an event it has partnered STB for the past 22 years. These donations have been instrumental in helping Jermayne and Vignesh, and other beneficiaries meet their critical needs, as well as progressively helping them to develop to their fullest potential.
The number of beneficiaries Community Chest supports through social service programmes has grown from 22,000 in 1983 to more than 340,000 beneficiaries today. Last year, donations ensured that more than 5,000 children with special needs continued to receive an education, helped over 21,000 individuals and families in need to achieve better self-reliance and stability, and supported over 2,000 seniors to meet their basic daily needs. This year, the fund-raising arm of the National Council of Social Service needs to raise $52.6 million to support 157 social service programmes.
Hitachi and StarHub
Hitachi has been a key partner of Community Chest since 1991, supporting its many social service programmes. To date, Hitachi has donated close to $3.1 million, accounting for about half of Community Chest’s total funds raised through this festive platform.
“The Hitachi Group is delighted to support the Christmas Light-up once again. For close to 20 years, the Hitachi Group in Singapore has partnered with Community Chest to light up the lives of those in need through the funds raised. Our commitment to the community demonstrates our corporate credo to contribute to society wherever Hitachi is located,” said Yasunori Taga, Chief Executive and Chief Innovation Officer for Asia, Hitachi, Ltd.
StarHub, another of Community Chest’s sterling partners, has donated more than $1.6 million to Community Chest over the years. In addition to StarHub’s corporate donation of $200,000, employees from StarHub also granted the Christmas wishes of 20 students from Grace Orchard School last evening by presenting them with thoughtfully chosen gifts paid out of their own pockets.
Mr Tan Tong Hai, Chief Operating Officer of StarHub, enthused, “We are committed to be a caring and responsible partner in the community in which we live and work, and are pleased to collaborate with Community Chest to bring cheer to the disadvantaged. StarHub has a strong culture of volunteerism, and the enthusiasm shown by our employees in helping to fulfil the wishes of the youths from Grace Orchard School is testimony to their willingness to give back to society.”
To make a donation to Community Chest
Organisations or the members of the public can also help realise the wishes of Jermayne and Vignesh and more than 340,000 other beneficiaries by making their donations at Community Chest’s Christmas set piece located outside Ngee Ann City or at www.comchest.org.sg.
The Christmas Light-up – ‘A Christmas All Decked Out’
The annual Christmas Light-up is organised by STB. This year, the streets of Orchard Road and Marina Bay are decked out with legendary Christmas icons such as Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus fashionably-styled, in celebration of this year’s theme of ‘A Christmas All Decked Out’. ORBA joins STB in organising the light up this year. The annual event, which runs from 7 November to 3 January 2010, is supported by Hitachi.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Mr Travis Lee
Corporate Communications Manager
Corporate Communications Division
National Council of Social Service
Tel: 62102641, HP: 94574350
Email: travis_lee@ncss.gov.sg
Ms Goh Siew Hian
Assistant Director
Corporate Communications Division
National Council of Social Service
Tel: 6210 2638, HP: 91396543
Email: goh_siew_hian@ncss.gov.sg
Community Chest
Community Chest raises funds on a yearly basis to meet the needs of the social service programmes we help support. Community Chest ensures that the fund-raising costs are kept to a minimum. As these costs are covered mainly by Tote Board and Singapore Pools (Private) Limited, every dollar raised by Community Chest will be made available to social service programmes under its care.
Community Chest has made it easier for individuals to donate from the comfort of their homes via websites such as www.comchest.org.sg and www.vpost.com.sg, through the internet (DBS, UOB or Citibank) or phone banking (DBS or POSB) and even at SAM machines across the island. Individuals can also reap tax benefits on donations through hassle-free modes like the Community Chest’s SHARE programme (the signup form is available at www.comchest.org.sg) where one can make monthly donations via GIRO, credit card or payroll and have his or her tax deductions automatically included in their tax assessments.
Issued by: Corporate Communications Division
National Council of Social Service
Saturday, 7 November 2009
