OCBC brings together property agents and staff volunteers to clean seniors’ homes
The collaboration marks the first time a bank has partnered property agents for a community service outreach effort
[SINGAPORE] OCBC on Saturday (Jul 12) brought together over 150 volunteers drawn from property agents of ERA, Huttons, OrangeTee & Tie and PropNex, as well as its own staff, to clean the homes of more than 30 seniors living alone and spend time with them.
The collaboration marks the first time a bank has partnered property agents for a community service outreach effort.
It commemorates the anniversary of OCBC PartnerCare – a financial and personal wellness programme designed for property agents that provides perks such as a preferential interest rate for home loans.
OCBC said that PartnerCare aimed to address gaps in the sector faced by property agents. Self-employed agents, for instance, may not have access to benefits and privileges typically available to full-time employees.
Tok Geok Peng, OCBC’s group head of consumer secured lending, said the programme has deepened relations between the bank and property agents – something the lender wanted to leverage in giving back to the community through supporting seniors, who were West Coast-Jurong West residents.
The effort was acknowledged by Minister for Education and Minister-in-Charge of Social Services Integration Desmond Lee, who was on-site to address the volunteers.
He said: “As we grow older, home care and social isolation may be more of a challenge for us. All of you are involved in the housing landscape in some way, and now you are helping people to reclaim their space by decluttering and cleaning their homes. It is wonderful to see this partnership of organisations.”
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