Citi donates over S$100,000 to ChildAid

Singapore

FOR the fourth consecutive year, Citi Singapore raised over S$100,000 for the annual children's charity concert ChildAid organised by The Business Times and The Straits Times. In the past 12 months, the bank held 40 community initiatives that included donation drives, community service projects and an advocacy campaign, culminating in its Global Community Day at the Marina Barrage on Saturday. Amol Gupte, Asean head and Citi Country Officer for Singapore, presented a cheque of S$102,513.65 to a representative from The Business Times.

He said: "Global Community Day has become an important tradition for Citi. While our volunteering efforts are a year-long process, the Global Community Day enables Citi volunteers to signal the positive impact we have on communities by coming together in force on a single day.

"It becomes even more significant when we can make a difference to meaningful causes like ChildAid."

Besides ChildAid, Citi also lent support to the Singapore National Paralympic Council (SNPC), the YMCA of Singapore and TOUCH Community Services.

The money channelled into ChildAid benefits two charities - The Business Times Budding Artists and The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. The former provides arts training for artistically gifted but financially needy kids, while the latter provides lunch and transport money to similarly disadvantaged kids. Over the years, the two charities have reached out to 170,000 beneficiaries.

This year's ChildAid concert will be staged on Nov 20 and 21 at the Esplanade Theatre. Veteran musician and Cultural Medallion recipient Dick Lee will return as its creative director, and the concert will feature some of ChildAid's most talented alumni who are now grown-up and have careers in music. Tickets will go on sale closer to the concert dates.