Resorts World Sentosa raises S$2 million at inaugural RWS Cares Festival

[SINGAPORE] Integrated resort operator Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) on Saturday (Aug 22) announced that it raised more than S$2 million for the President’s Challenge from its inaugural RWS Cares Festival.

The figure includes monetary and in-kind support.

The funds will support three President’s Challenge beneficiaries: Autism Resource Centre (ARC), Mainly I Love Kids (Milk) Fund and TomoWork. The President’s Challenge is a national community and fundraising initiative to help vulnerable groups.

About S$800,000 was raised from the Steps of Hope Walkathon, which took place on Saturday morning.

It rallied more than 3,000 participants, including community partners, beneficiaries and RWS employees. They walked a 1.4 km route through the resort, passing Universal Studios Singapore, Singapore Oceanarium and Adventure Cove Waterpark.

The carnival continued until Sunday, with the Green Living Fair set up at the oceanarium’s Research and Learning Centre. Local brands and social enterprises sold eco-friendly products, ran workshops and taught visitors about sustainability. All proceeds went to the vendors.

For example, social enterprise vendor Kairos Moment offered handmade crochet pieces inspired by marine life while supporting special needs caregivers. Meanwhile, Deaf ArtsCraftsy – part of SG Enable’s i’mable collective – sold handmade ceramics and artworks by deaf and hard-of-hearing artists.

Lee Shi Ruh, CEO of RWS, said: “The carnival format also helps lower the barrier to giving. Instead of treating philanthropy as something formal or transactional, the festival allows people to participate in ways that feel familiar and accessible, from walking together and supporting social enterprises to learning about sustainable living as a family.”

Supporting employability prospects

The funds raised for the three beneficiaries will support the employability of adults on the autism spectrum, persons with disabilities (PWDs) and at-risk youth.

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“Rather than providing short-term assistance alone, the support is intended to help beneficiaries build skills, access training and strengthen pathways towards employment, financial resilience and self-sufficiency,” Lee said.

“The beneficiaries were selected because their work closely aligns with RWS Cares’ focus on inclusiveness, education, empowerment and long-term community impact.”

First, ARC will use the funds for its Employability and Employment Centre (E2C), which equips individuals on the autism spectrum with individualised job training, coaching and placements, as well as continued job support.

E2C currently provides ongoing support to 352 beneficiaries.

It supports 80 to 100 of them through employability training and 60 to 80 with job placements every year.

Since its inception in 2012, E2C has facilitated more than 600 jobs for beneficiaries. Around 85 per cent of them remain in employment beyond one year.

Jacelyn Lim, executive director of ARC (Singapore), said: “Most E2C clients continue to require ongoing job support at varying levels of intensity as they build greater independence, integrate confidently into the workplace, and adapt to changing job roles and workplace needs.”

Second, the funds raised by RWS will go towards Milk Fund’s six-month Uplift! Programme for Institute of Technical Education, polytechnic and university students, many of whom are from lower-income backgrounds.

About 70 to 80 beneficiaries will be supported by hands-on experiential workshops and small group mentoring sessions.

The programme helps students build practical skills in financial literacy and career readiness, with a focus on confidence, communication and consistency.

Suraj Upadhiah, executive director of Milk Fund, said: “Our aim is for them to experience greater stability in education and early work transitions, have reduced vulnerability to financial shocks and stronger long-term prospects for upward mobility and independence.

“RWS’ support will help fund the workshops, facilitation, learning resources and other programme experiences that enable our scholars to develop and put these skills into practice.”

Third, TomoWork will use the funds for its Talent Accelerator Programme (TAP) to help provide PWDs and students with special educational needs, with learning and development opportunities.

Jenny Yang, CEO of TomoWork, said: “The support from RWS will contribute towards career-readiness workshops, mentorship opportunities and real-world corporate work immersion projects that allow participants to gain practical workplace experience.”

The programme benefits around 30 to 40 students each year, and is aimed at achieving an employment rate of around 80 per cent among programme graduates.

“For programmes such as TAP, corporate involvement enables participants to develop skills in environments that closely mirror real workplace settings. At the same time, employers gain first-hand experience of the strengths and capabilities of PWDs,” Yang added.

While RWS previously supported ARC’s fundraising event in 2018 and collaborated with its social enterprise The Art Faculty, this is the first time RWS is working with Milk Fund and TomoWork.

RWS’ Lee said the RWS Cares Festival marks the start of a three-year partnership with President’s Challenge. She hopes that it becomes an annual platform that inspires collective action to give back.