SGX Cares’ 2026 charity futsal raises S$150,000

[SINGAPORE] SGX Cares, the philanthropic arm of bourse operator Singapore Exchange (SGX), has raised around S$150,000 from its annual charity futsal event on Saturday (Sep 26).

The funds will go towards supporting six beneficiary organisations: Awwa, Autism Association (Singapore), Fei Yue Community Services, HCSA Community Services, Shared Services for Charities and Tasek Academy & Social Services. 

Pol de Win, head of global sales and origination at SGX, said: “Sport is a good way to connect people to rally behind something with a common purpose. The people and institutions that we rally behind this are people we deal with professionally: our financial community, banks, brokers, consulting firms, lawyers, as well as listed companies.”

Thirty-five teams participated in the 11th edition of the event, including a Singapore Parliament team, a team of former Singapore national football players, as well as sponsors such as WongPartnership, Singapore Pools and OCBC.

The Singapore Ex-Internationals team included Lionel Lewis as captain and former players Fandi Ahmad, Malek Awab and Aide Iskandar, while the Parliament team included several MPs and ministers.

The tournament featured four categories: men’s open, men’s competitive, women’s competitive and youth.

The amount raised also included contributions from the SGX Cares Bull Charge Ultimate Quiz Challenge, which took place on Friday with 33 teams participating.

Besides these events, SGX Cares manages the Bull Charge Charity Run annually. It takes place this year on Nov 6.

Since 2004, SGX Cares has raised more than S$55 million for charities and community causes.

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Supporting social causes

One long-time SGX Cares beneficiary is HCSA Community Services. It will use the funds to support single-parent families through its HCSA Spin programme and teenage girls recovering from trauma via its HCSA Dayspring programme.

Andrew Tay, CEO of HCSA Community Services, said: “For HCSA Spin, this means helping single parents and lone caregivers strengthen their families through practical and emotional support, counselling, workshops, peer networks and opportunities for their children and families to participate more fully in the community.”

He added that for HCSA Dayspring, the support will centre on creating a safe environment where the teenage girls can recover, continue their education, and reintegrate back into the community.

The funds raised will also go towards Awwa’s programmes serving children, youths and adults with additional needs, families with complex social issues, and the elderly. The charity has partnered SGX for more than 15 years.

Bruce Liew, senior director of disability and inclusion at Awwa, said: “The funds help service users participate more fully in everyday life, with greater independence and dignity.”

In particular, they will go towards transportation costs for students with autism and children with developmental needs, as well as helping students with additional needs build daily living skills and confidence in navigating the community.

“Government funding and programme fees provide an important foundation, but they do not always cover the full cost of meeting the needs of the people we serve,” Liew added. “Corporate support helps us bridge gaps and gives us room to respond to needs that go beyond the basic delivery of a programme.”

Meanwhile, Fei Yue Community Services – a partner of SGX since 2012 – will use the funds to help children with special needs and seniors.

Tricia Foo, manager of strategic communications and engagement at Fei Yue, said: “(It) will support children from lower-income families and families going through significant life transitions, helping to reduce financial barriers to accessing essential early intervention services such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and psychological support.”

More than 60 students benefit directly from this funding each year.

“For seniors, funding will support Middle Mend, which addresses an important gap in senior care by supporting the ‘missing middle’: seniors who are partially dependent and require more support than can be provided through independent living, but who may not require full-time care,” Foo added.

Meanwhile, Tasek – one of SGX’s newer beneficiary organisations – will use the funds for long-term mentoring support.

More specifically, Tasek’s beneficiaries can gain skills in football, education and art; interact with social workers and specialist mentors; and develop decision-making abilities.