CBP Gives 2017 Community Project Brings Together Corporate Partners to make seniors more digitally savvy, and provide volunteer services and monetary donations to social service organisations.
SINGAPORE – 17 November, 2017: South East Community Development Council (CDC) and IBM have announced that once again businesses in the Changi Business Park (CBP) vicinity will come together and do their part for the community as part of the CBP Gives project. Rallied by IBM, companies such as Citi Singapore, Cognizant, Credit Suisse, DBS, Standard Chartered Bank, UPS and Yusen Logistics will participate in the joint CBP Gives 2017 community project – aimed to sensitise and engage the employees on the social needs of the community and create an inclusive environment for all.
The CBP Gives project is grounded on the premise that charity can begin in the workplace and business leaders have the power to nurture a culture of giving in their organisations. Recognising that individuals have different preferences on how they wish to give back to the community, the intent of CBP Gives is to provide employees with options on how to give back to the community in a way that is most meaningful to them. These may be in the form of making donations-in-kind, skills-based volunteering or making a cash donation.
Donations-in-kind: Grant a wish
In its third year of partnership, South East CDC continues to work with IBM, to connect the more able to the less able in the community. Acting in the role of a social broker, South East CDC fulfils wishes via community partners such as Tembusu Senior Activity Centre, St Hilda’s Community Services and several others through CBP Gives. IBM, together with South East CDC and design & portal partner, HarvestHub Design Studio, gathered a total of 700 wishes from charity organisations and students from underprivileged families ranging from schoolbags to shoes to laptops to beds to wheelchairs, worth a total of $45,000, which will be fulfilled by the participating companies.
Skills based volunteering: Digital Clinics
In support of Singapore’s vision of a smart nation, CBP Gives 2017, together with IMDA and South East CDC, will host close to 30 Digital Clinics for senior citizens to become more proficient with interacting and transacting using their mobile phones. About 400 volunteers from the participating companies will engage with more than 1,000 senior citizens within the next year to provide one-on-one assistance to help seniors become more digitally savvy.
“Even as Singapore embraces exciting opportunities enabled by technology as a Smart Nation and a digital economy, we must continue to ensure that all segments of our society can participate meaningfully in the digital future. It is heartening to see passionate volunteers from the people, private and public sectors come together to support our seniors in navigating the digital world, and reap the benefits of technology.” said Mr Tan Kiat How, Chief Executive, IMDA.
For more information on the Digital Clinics, please refer to Annex A.
Donation-in-Cash
In addition to donation in kind and community service, employees may also choose to donate cash. Employees will be directed to the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre’s Giving.sg web page to make cash donations through The Social Co.’s Pledge It Forward Campaign where funds collected will be distributed evenly to 51 pre-selected underserved social service organisations in Singapore.
"We are committed to Singapore’s vision of a progressive, inclusive and smart nation by once again lending our time, skills and resources in support of a larger social needs goal. While each and every one of us can play a part in the community and impact lives, we have demonstrated that when we all unite, we can scale and maximise impact to the community, making real our vision that an engaged community collaborating in partnership can lift the lives and the spirit of the poor and the disadvantaged." said Abraham Thomas, Managing Director, IBM Singapore.
Dr Maliki Osman, Mayor of South East District, commended on the effort, “South East CDC is proud to once again work with IBM for CBP Gives 2017. This project is an exemplary showcase of how South East CDC wants our partners to move from Corporate Social Responsibility to Corporate Social Ownership – to understand some of the concerns of our community partners, and to take ownership to help them and rally like-minded people to support the cause. At South East CDC, we will continue to be the social broker to bring corporate and community partners together, to help the vulnerable families. I look forward to continue working with IBM and many other like-minded companies to reach out to more within the community.”
In 2014, IBM spearheaded their first CBP corporate-led community project, “Carnival@Changi to raise awareness of social needs and strengthen community engagement. The President’s Challenge 2014 was launched by President Tony Tan at the Carnival, which received strong support from over 3,000 attendees, and donations of over $85,000.
Related Resources
Annex A: Announcement of Digital Clinics (128.71KB)
Annex B: Factsheet of the Silver Infocomm Initiative (250.55KB)
Appendix I: Quotes from participating corporate and community partners (1.04MB)
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH EAST COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, IBM, AND INFOCOMM MEDIA DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
About South East Community Development Council
South East CDC was set up on 24 November 2001. It oversees the Marine Parade Group Representative Constituency (GRC), East Coast GRC, Fengshan Single Member Constituency (SMC), Mountbatten SMC and MacPherson SMC, and serves a population of about half a million residents. At the helm of South East CDC is Mayor Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, who steers efforts in achieving the three strategic thrusts that guide the work of the CDCs. Termed the “ABCs of Community Bonding‟ — Assisting the Needy, Bonding the People and Connecting the Community — South East CDC initiates and manages programmes in collaboration with both community and corporate partners along these three strategic thrusts, so as to nurture a vibrant and self-reliant community.
For more information on South East CDC, visit www.cdc.org.sg/SouthEast or be our Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/secdc.
About IBM
IBM is a globally integrated technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. With operations in more than 170 countries, IBM attracts and retains some of the world's most talented people to help solve problems and provide an edge for businesses, governments and non-profits.
Innovation is at the core of IBM's strategy. Today, IBM is focused on five growth initiatives - Cloud, Big Data&Analytics, Mobile, Social and Security - in creating new markets and capturing new buyers. IBMers are working with customers around the world to build a smarter planet - by applying the company's business consulting, technology and R&D expertise to develop systems that enable dynamic and efficient organisations, better transportation, safer food, cleaner water and healthier populations.
For more information on IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com/sg.
About Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) leads Singapore’s digital transformation with infocomm media. To do this, IMDA will develop a dynamic digital economy and a cohesive digital society, driven by an exceptional infocomm media (ICM) ecosystem – by developing talent, strengthening business capabilities, and enhancing Singapore's ICM infrastructure. IMDA also regulates the telecommunications and media sectors to safeguard consumer interests while fostering a pro-business environment, and enhances Singapore’s data protection regime through the Personal Data Protection Commission.
For more news and information, visit www.imda.gov.sg or follow IMDA on Facebook IMDAsg and Twitter @IMDAsg.
For media clarifications, please contact:
South East CDC
Claire Koh
Email: Claire_Koh@pa.gov.sg
Phone: 9695 7630
IBM Singapore
Charlene Lee
Email: charlee@sg.ibm.com
Phone: 9791 6485
IMDA
Loh Wei-Shan
Email: loh_wei_shan@imda.gov.sg
Phone: +65 6202 4411
.webp)