Making a difference, one word at a time

Singapore

THNG Jia Yun, a Primary 2 pupil at Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School (KCPPS), has been expanding her lexicon with staff volunteers from Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore).

Once a week, a group of more than 10 bank employees would spend time reading books such as After Happily Ever After and Zac Power to an equal number of students.

The reading programme was founded in 2015 by Kenneth Tham and Karen Aw from Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore), to help "reluctant readers" from groups of students who are under the Financial Assistance Scheme.

The programme is capped at 10-15 pupils per session, and over 120 have benefitted since its inception. The initiative took a hiatus due to Covid, and started again this month with social distancing in place.

Mr Tham said: "It has offered students an opportunity to develop an interest in reading and cultivate better reading habits. Reading aloud to someone is more important than we think it is, as it takes a lot of confidence. The interaction with our volunteers has also expanded the social interaction skills for the young students.

"Education is so important in our society and I am glad that we are able to contribute in this manner. We feel very proud when we hear that they are doing better in their studies, and being more active and vocal."

All book titles are curated by KCPPS teachers, and are suitable for readers eight to 12 years old.

Healthy community, valued employees

Jia Yun said that besides expanding her vocabulary, she has enjoyed interacting with the volunteers.

Ginny Ong, a Primary 5 pupil, concurred and added: "Standard Chartered's reading programme is fun and interesting, and the volunteers are nice and friendly... and what I like most is the outing with them at the end of the year to places like the Science Centre."

Although the reading sessions now "sell like hotcakes" among the bank's staff, it was not always the case.

"The initial challenge was finding volunteers to run the initiative as it was still a new employee volunteering concept at that time.

"However, with the dedication of our Employee Volunteering (EV) champions and support of teams across the bank, it has now grown into one of the most successful, self-running programmes." The activity is usually "sold-out" within a short time frame after an internal broadcast, said Mr Tham.

Patrick Lee, chief executive officer (CEO) of Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited, said that sustainability is part of the business strategy, and volunteering is deeply embedded in its corporate culture.

"The health and sustainability of the community is important for our business success and continuity. It is all connected, and we are part of the ecosystem. This is why the bank's corporate brand promise is 'Here for good'."

When asked if such activities are beneficial to the bank, Mr Tham said such projects provide the opportunity for staff to take some time outside of the office to do good as individuals or with their teams.

"Bonded over a shared sense of purpose, such activities allow employees to meet others in the company whom they may not have a direct working relationship with and create memorable experiences together."

In an internal survey conducted in 2019 to measure the impact of its volunteering programme, 89 per cent of Standard Chartered's employees indicated that volunteering positively contributed to their job satisfaction.

Hence, the bank offers every employee three days of annual EV leave to support causes that they choose.

Mr Lee said: "Most of the EV ideas also stem from staff who are driven by their passion to make a difference.

"Supporting and co-creating such activities with staff can make them feel that the causes they care about are heard and valued by the company."

Deborah Ho, compliance director at Standard Chartered, has volunteered for this programme since its inception.

She said: "There is so much I learn about the students and their lives in just the simple act of sharing stories. It's good to be back to hear their cheerful laughter and answer those candid questions again."

• This article is part of a series on doing good for our community, supported by Standard Chartered Bank