Championing the Singapore spirit

AUGUST is a time to celebrate all things Singapore, and the month also presents the opportunity for Singaporeans to come together as one, and extend a helping hand to the underprivileged.

Through the National Day campaign 22 Days of Doing Good, organisations are invited to do just that.

In this article, 3 companies who exemplified the spirit of giving and caring are profiled, showing through their actions what it means to stand in national solidarity to help those with less.

22 Days of Doing Good, a campaign championing the SG Cares Spirit of doing good in the community, is a collaboration between NDP22, the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre and the National Council of Social Service

Agilent Technologies Singapore

Sree Narayana Mission Home

On Aug 26, Agilent is organising a National Day-inspired Fun Fair and Pasar Malam for Sree Narayana Mission (SNM) Home’s residents, their family members and employees of SNH, the first in-person National Day celebration at SNM in 2 years.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Friday, 2 pm

Lifestyle

Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself.

Sign Up

The analytical instrument manufacturer has been volunteering at SNM home since 2017, with its National Day celebration initiative starting from 2018. The collaboration serves to improve the mental and physical well-being of seniors, as well as widening the beneficiaries’ network and engagement in society.

General manager of Agilent Singapore, Chow Woai Sheng, said: “Singapore holds its National Day Parade (NDP) every year, where Singaporeans come together to celebrate. But NDP is more than just a celebration, it is a reflection of the nation’s story and shared aspirations. To rally the country together in a show of national solidarity, Agilent is bringing the National Day joy to the underserved residents who are physically unable to attend the NDP.”

The campaign strives to break social isolation among seniors in the SNM care home and spread the National Day joy. “To bring back memories of traditional food culture in the kampong spirit, volunteers from Agilent will be peddling food on their shoulders from ward to ward as a throwback to kampong days for the beneficiaries,” said Chow.

Besides a limitless amount of local delights and goodie bags, Agilent will also host a mobile Fun Fair with traditional kampong games such as tikam-tikam, among others, for the residents.

Dell Technologies Singapore

MINDs

Dell’s partnership with MINDs started with the Dell | MINDS Befriending Programme and has extended over the past 8 years to include the donation of IT infrastructure, active fund raising and employee volunteering.

The partnership is one of Dell’s True Ability Employee Resource Group’s (ERG) many community outreach initiatives, which “has raised approximately SGD$100,000 per annum for MINDs.

“Our total financial contribution to charities and non-profit organisations for CY2021 exceeds USD$200,000. In Singapore, more than 50 per cent of our employees have also participated in community service events – clocking nearly 4,500 community service hours altogether,” said Ng Tian Beng, executive sponsor for Singapore Site Community Service, senior vice president, Channel, Asia Pacific & Japan, Dell Technologies

In the lead-up to National Day, Dell employees will be volunteering with MINDS to organise and run a National Day-themed art and craft event as well as providing special National Day cupcakes to MINDS’ Fernvale Gardens School on 8 and 11 Aug 2022.

Through its support for MINDS Film Festival 2022 and MINDS Taiko Drummers performance among other events, Dell is on its way to achieving its ambitious goal to have at least 75 per cent of its employees participate in volunteerism activities in their communities each year through to 2030.

Multiple employees at Dell have also told The Business Times that they feel proud to be employees at Dell when the company gives back to the community to build a better society. Vishal Garkhel, senior director, product & solutions sales, said: “Volunteering improves mental wellness and energy level which helps in our work. Having a positive view in life can help avoid being burnout from our day to day work.”

Shangri-La Singapore

The Art Faculty (TAF) Singapore’s heritage artists

This August, Shangri-La will be hosting a National Day Art Trail in its hotel, featuring artworks by those at The Art Faculty and Singapore’s heritage artists who shaped the Singapore Nanyang Style art, to create a colourful artistic treasure trail for kids to learn more about the local art scene and the work of our heritage artists in an engaging and fun way.

John Rice, general manager of Shangri-La Singapore, said: “Shangri-La has been working with The Art Faculty, a social enterprise by Autism Resource Centre (Singapore), on several corporate social responsibility initiatives since 2021.”

Displaying the work of their artists and merchandise sale available between Aug 2 and 20, Rice added the heritage trail will “provide a platform for The Art Faculty to further their cause of showcasing and honouring the unique talents of artists on the spectrum; and at the same time, celebrate the work of artists with special needs in Singapore.”

“Works from The Art Faculty will feature artwork on our national heritage with unique Singapore architecture like shophouses, Singapore cityscapes and our Singapore hawker culture which is listed on UNESCO’s intangible Cultural Heritage List.”

“Part of the heritage trail includes showcasing the different artwork elements within our Singapore fifty-dollar note, contributed by various Singaporean pioneering heritage artists – Chen Wen Hsi, Cheong Soo Pieng and Chua Mia Tee.”

Rice added that the Shangri-La Treasure Trail has been a popular seasonal activity with young guests, and said that the National Day Trail “celebrates our nation’s birthday and allows our younger generation to gain a different perspective and insight of art, our culture and our heritage.”

Company of Good connects organisations to do good strategically, sustainably and impactfully. Make goodness the business of your organisation at www.companyofgood.sg