MEDIA RELEASE Embargoed until 2.15pm on 18 October 2012

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1 MEDIA RELEASE Embargoed until 2.15pm on 18 October 2012 THREE ORGANISATIONS CLINCH THE PRESTIGIOUS PINNACLE AWARD Record Number of Longstanding Corporate Partners Lauded at Community Chest Awards 2012 SINGAPORE, OCTOBER 16, 2012 A record number of 47 long-time partners will be recognised for their generosity and support to Community Chest for a decade or more at the annual Community Chest Awards Presentation Ceremony. The number of 10-, 15- and 20-Year Outstanding Awards given out is the highest since the first Awards ceremony held in This record number is also more than four times compared to a decade ago. President Tony Tan to present three organisations with the Pinnacle Award The Guest-of-Honour, President Tony Tan Keng Yam, will be presenting three organisations with the Pinnacle Award, the highest honour given to donors of Community Chest, at the Istana on 18 October The three organisations to be conferred the prestigious Pinnacle Award this year are SingTel, Temasek Polytechnic and Langdon & Seah Singapore Pte Ltd. SingTel SingTel s cornerstone philanthropy programme, the SingTel Touching Lives Fund, raised more than $20 million for charities supported by Community Chest over the past decade. Beyond donations, SingTel actively engages its employees, business partners and the general public through a wide range of fund-raising activities. These included the annual Fold-A-Heart campaign where SingTel donated $1 for every origami and electronic heart received, its flag day in June 2011 that involved over 800 staff and their family and friends, and its annual charity golf event. In addition, all fund-raising costs are fully under-written by SingTel to ensure that every dollar donated goes towards helping children and youth with special needs. SingTel is honoured to receive the prestigious Pinnacle Award from the Community Chest. We established the SingTel Touching Lives Fund (STLF) with the goal of helping children and youth with special needs to lead more fulfilling lives. We are grateful for the strong support from our business partners, staff and members of the public who have responded generously to our call to action. We are committed to creating a positive impact in the communities. SingTel encourages employees to COMMUNITY CHEST The NCSS Fund-raising Division 170 Ghim Moh Road #01-02 Singapore Tel: Fax: comchest.sg

2 volunteer their time with the STLF beneficiaries and promotes the concept of volunteering as a team. Many departments choose to spend time with the beneficiaries through visits, excursions, parties or lend a hand to collect books and give the beneficiaries premises a new coat of paint, as part of their team bonding activity, said Ms Jeann Low, Chairman of the SingTel Touching Lives Fund and SingTel Group Chief Financial Officer. Temasek Polytechnic Temasek Polytechnic started participating in SHARE in With strong support from the management, Temasek Polytechnic had kept its average staff participation rate at more than 90 per cent for the last ten years. Staff members from Temasek Polytechnic also took on the role of SHARE champions. One of them who had gone the extra mile was Mrs Toh Sian Chow, a human resource officer. Besides conducting briefing sessions to new staff to highlight the SHARE programme to them, she also shared with her colleagues how donations to Community Chest were utilised to help the needy and related her personal experiences to interest them to do their part for charity. Langdon & Seah Singapore Pte Ltd Langdon & Seah Singapore Pte Ltd had been supporting the SHARE programme since To encourage its staff to come on board the programme, the company provided an additional 20 per cent top-up for every staff s contribution to SHARE. The company s corporate social responsibility committee also organised fund-raising activities and other community projects to promote SHARE to its staff and members of the public. Strong support for SHARE from employers and employees Over 80 per cent of the 160 awards to be presented during the ceremony at Istana are recognition of the organisations and their employees support towards SHARE. Many employees had been motivated by their organisation s strong corporate culture of giving and showed similar enthusiasm to help the needy. 64-year-old Mr Lok Tai, a technician with Sembawang Shipyard Pte Ltd, is one example. Despite drawing a monthly salary of $1,500 and being the sole breadwinner for his family, he has been donating to Community Chest for the past 11 years. Mr Lok said, I was retrenched and was unemployed for six months before finding this job, so I am very grateful to be a part of this big family. $2 a month is something I can afford since I have the ability to work. I always believe that one should help those in need when he has the ability to do so as he may one day require the help of others. Sembawang Shipyard Pte Ltd first came on board the SHARE programme in 1987 and received the SHARE Corporate Gold Award at the Awards ceremony last month. 2

3 Community Chest Awards Presentation Ceremony This year, a total of 254 Community Chest Awards were given out during the first ceremony at Marina Mandarin Singapore on 26 September and another 160 Awards will be conferred at the second ceremony held at the Istana. Attached for your reference is the programme for the event and information on the Pinnacle Award recipients. For pre-event interviews with award recipients and other media enquiries, please contact: Ms Chew Kia Huey Senior Executive Corporate Communications Division National Council of Social Service Tel: / chew_kia_huey@ncss.gov.sg Ms Goh Siew Hian Head Corporate Communications Division National Council of Social Service Tel: / goh_siew_hian@ncss.gov.sg Community Chest Community Chest raises funds on a yearly basis to meet the needs of the social service programmes we help support. Community Chest ensures that fund-raising and other operating costs are kept to a minimum. As these costs are covered mainly by Tote Board and Singapore Pools, every dollar raised by Community Chest will be made available to social service programmes under its care. Community Chest has made it easier for individuals to donate from the comfort of their homes via websites such as comchest.sg and through the internet (DBS, UOB or Citibank) or phone banking (DBS or POSB) and even at SAM machines and inets Kiosks across the island. Individuals can also reap tax benefits on donations through hassle-free modes like the Community Chest's monthly workplace giving programme SHARE, where employees make monthly donations via GIRO, credit card or payroll and have his or her tax deductions automatically included in their tax assessments. Community Chest aims to raise $72.3 million this year to help support 82 charities in running 219 critical social service programmes. The funds raised will benefit over 300,000 people including children with special needs, youths-at-risk, persons with disabilities, lonely and frail elderly and families in need. Issued by: Corporate Communications Division National Council of Social Service Tuesday, 16 October

4 Annex A COMMUNITY CHEST AWARDS PRESENTATION CEREMONY 2012 STATE ROOM, THE ISTANA Programme Date Time Venue : 18 October 2012 (Thursday) : 11am 2.15pm : State Room, The Istana 11am 12.05pm 12.15pm 12.20pm Arrival of guests and media Arrival of Mr Chan Chun Sing Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports and Patron of the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) Arrival of Guest-of-Honour (GOH) President Tony Tan Keng Yam President of the Republic of Singapore and Patron-in-Chief of NCSS Thank-you speech by Ms Jennie Chua Chairman of Community Chest Thank-you speech by Daphne Chew Beneficiary of Community Chest from Canossian School 12.30pm 1.10pm 1.15pm Presentation of Community Chest Awards by GOH Presentation of token of appreciation to GOH Group photo-taking for all award recipients at the Main Porch Reception in the Banquet Hall 2.15pm End 4

5 Annex B INFORMATION ON PINNACLE AWARD RECIPIENTS SingTel SingTel is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen in the markets they operate in. They constantly look for ways to implement and improve sustainable business practices in four key areas Marketplace, People, Environment and Community. In the area of Community, the SingTel Touching Lives Fund (STLF) is SingTel s cornerstone philanthropy programme. The STLF has a special focus on supporting charitable organisations that provide assistance to children and young people with special needs. Launched in 2002, the STLF raises funds by engaging SingTel s employees, business partners and regional associate companies, customers and the general public. Some core fund-raising activities include the signature Fold-A-Heart activity where members of the public fold electronic or paper hearts and SingTel donates $1 for every folded heart collected. The annual Charity Golf event is another key fundraiser where business partners sponsor golf flights hosted by SingTel s management team. SingTel employees are also encouraged to donate via an online portal and their donations are matched dollar-for-dollar. SingTel fully underwrites all fund-raising costs so that every dollar donated to the STLF goes towards supporting their beneficiary organisations. On top of this, SingTel also makes a corporate donation to the STLF. Together with the generous and strong support of the various stakeholders over the past 10 years, the STLF has raised more than $22 million for charities supported by Community Chest. Temasek Polytechnic Established in April 1990, Temasek Polytechnic (TP) is a significant contributor to the field of para-professional education in Singapore offering full-time diploma courses and part-time courses in the areas including applied sciences, business, design, social sciences, and informatics and IT to around 15,000 students. TP also has a strong culture of caring and sharing. This is evident in one of their core subjects for all students - Applied Principles for Effective Living which infuses the social mission into the curriculum as part of a holistic approach to education. The spirit of volunteerism and acts of charity at TP are demonstrated through the many 5

6 activities undertaken by the students including organising games for physically and intellectually challenged children at the Asian Women s Welfare Association s Children s Day event, participation in food-donation drive and charity runs. TP started participating in SHARE in 1991 and for the last ten years, kept its average staff participation rate at more than 90 per cent through strong support from the management. Staff members from Temasek Polytechnic also took on the role of SHARE champions and one such champion was Mrs Toh Sian Chow, a human resource officer. Besides conducting briefing sessions to all new staff to highlight the SHARE programme to them, she also shared with her colleagues how donations to Community Chest were utilised to help the needy as well as related her personal experiences in volunteering to interest them to do their part for charity. I am not from a wealthy family and even almost had to stop schooling after PSLE to provide for the family. I was fortunate to have received the help from my form teacher and my neighbour that enabled me to continue my studies. I also received Temasek Polytechnic s sponsorship to do two diplomas since I joined in The kindness, generosity and support I have received thus far have changed my life and I hope to pay it forward and help those in need through promoting SHARE, said Mrs Toh. Langdon & Seah Singapore Pte Ltd One of the most established quantity surveying companies, Langdon & Seah Singapore offers expertise in a range of projects including building typologies, infrastructure and energy sustainability. Their range of projects has also extended to the community as they firmly believe that they can play a significant role in positively influencing and making an impact in the society. Some examples of the programmes they have supported include Collection in Aid of the Needy (C.A.N) project in partnership with the National University of Singapore, charity fair and walkathon with St Andrew s Autism Centre, and also fund-raising efforts through charity golf, gala dinners and sponsorships. Langdon & Seah Singapore is honoured to receive the Pinnacle Award this year. We are committed to serving the community through our partnership with Community Chest to improve the quality of life of the underprivileged. It is inculcated in our corporate culture to advocate civic-mindedness and social responsibility and to contribute back to the society, said Mr Eugene Seah, Deputy Chairman of Langdon & Seah Singapore Pte Ltd. 6