Spreading kindness and smiles, one person at a time

One small screen was all it took to create 1,000 connections and memories that last a long time. To ease the feelings of isolation among seniors, DBS employees engaged about 1,000 seniors through virtual sing-along sessions and chit-chat sessions at the height of the pandemic last year.

The company-wide effort is believed to be the largest virtual befriending initiative led by volunteers in Singapore so far, with more than 1,600 DBS employees participating in the initiative.

Not only have DBS employees contributed time and energy in such volunteerism efforts, they have also been strong supporters of Community Chest's regular giving SHARE programme. A partner of the SHARE programme since 1990, DBS encourages employees to make regular donations by matching their donation dollar-for-dollar.

With sustained contributions made towards SHARE, Community Chest can support more than 100 social service agencies and over 200 critical programmes that empower children with special needs and youth-at-risk, adults with disabilities, persons with mental health conditions as well as families and seniors in need of assistance. 100 per cent of donations goes to these five supported causes.

The impact of these donations to SHARE is further amplified under the SHARE As One (SAO) initiative launched in 2016, through which the Government provides dollar-matching for any new donations over and above what was made in the preceding year, up to Financial Year 2023, to encourage Singaporeans to adopt a culture of sustained giving.

According to Community Chest, just $15 can provide one week of befriending services to help ensure a senior is meaningfully engaged, while about $35 can provide one day of job training in a sheltered workshop for an adult with disabilities.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Friday, 12.30 pm

ESG Insights

An exclusive weekly report on the latest environmental, social and governance issues.

Sign Up

Inspiring a domino effect

One of SHARE's objectives is to spark a ripple of philanthropic outreach efforts within and beyond the workplace, and this includes supporting companies in their own corporate social responsibility efforts.

In the case of DBS, being part of the SHARE programme contributed to their inspiration for their ground-up initiatives. Even before the pandemic, employees worked with community partners in the key focuses of elderly, education and the environment. In one of their initiatives, children from underprivileged backgrounds had the opportunity to learn how to plant and harvest crops and contribute to someone's meal.

If we multiply that by more than 2,000 companies and over 250,000 individuals that are participating in the SHARE programme, the simple act of giving at the individual level adds up exponentially to become a powerful and sustainable force for doing good.

Participating companies are allowed to claim a portion of the matching government grant under the SAO programme for CSR initiatives that support social services agencies under the Community Chest, up to a cap of $10,000 a year. Lions Befrienders is one such social service agency.

Research has shown that volunteering has far-reaching benefits for corporate culture and identity. According to the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre's It's Just Good Business: A Corporate Giving Guide to Align Profit and Purpose (2018), 96 per cent of corporates saw more employees satisfied and 89 per cent said public perception of their company improved.

Becoming the 'best bank for a better world'

For two years running, DBS received the Volunteer Partner Award and Charity Platinum Award for its regular volunteerism scheme and its donations to Community Chest. The bank has also institutionalised two days of volunteer leave for all employees.

Ms Tan Sor Cheng, Managing Director, Group Human Resources DBS says, "We have actively encouraged our employees to participate in the programme and over the years, they have in turn encouraged their fellow colleagues to do the same. Before the pandemic, one of our staff even took the initiative to dress up as the [Community Chest mascot] Sharity Elephant during one of our roadshows, to encourage colleagues to give back to the community."

Ms Tan is also a SHARE Ambassador, and advocates for the SHARE programme among her networks.

Ms Tan believes that volunteering will continue to be a combination of online and in-person activities in the next year, which the bank will leverage to collaborate with community partners to continue to support its key focuses as well as any Covid-related needs.

"I believe, as a purpose-driven organisation, we have the ability to make a positive impact in society. We want to continuously improve and to be better today than we were yesterday. This desire propels us to contribute to a cause that is bigger than ourselves," says Ms Tan.

By encouraging its employees to contribute in their own ways for a better world, the bank is clearly off to a good start.