News Release
CORPORATES PLAY BALL TO RAISE MONEY FOR CURES
Corporate team games raises $300,000 for medical research and healthcare programmes
16 September 2007 – Teams from 15 companies competed today in an inaugural corporate games event organised by SingHealth Foundation to raise $300,000 in support of medical research and critical healthcare programmes that may otherwise go unfunded. The event held at the School of Physical Education stadium in Bukit Timah saw more than 200 sportsmen and women competing in a variety of sports.
Participating companies from marine, engineering, pharmaceutical, medical devices, legal, FMCG, finance, electronics and manufacturing industries were represented at the Games. Each company donated between $5000 to $100,000 (see Annexe A) and most sent a team of up to 20 staff to participate in a choice of 6 sporting activities, namely; Soccer, Volleyball, Basketball, Netball, Badminton and Tennis. Supported by the Singapore Sports Council (SSC), the event attracted the participation of many corporations as part of their efforts to sustain workplace health and sports programmes.
Seven organisations including the Lee Foundation and Singapore Totalisator Board chose to lend support through outright donations and sponsorship. Retailers such as World of Sports, Mizuno, Columbia and Vitagen also came on board as Product Partners to support the event.
By engaging private companies, SingHealth Foundation’s “All for CURE, CURE for All” corporate games aims to promote a healthy lifestyle and boost corporate bonding through friendly competition, whilst raising funds for the Foundation’s four core areas CURE – Cord Blood Bank, Understanding Patient Care, Research and Education. Funds raised translate to direct support for Singapore’s only public cord blood bank which serves as a much-needed resource for patients suffering from blood cancers and disorders; assistance for needy patients to access comprehensive healthcare and rehabilitation; support for peer-reviewed clinical and translational research and professional training of healthcare staff.
“Improving healthcare is our driving aim and patients are the ultimate beneficiaries of the programmes that SingHealth Foundation actively raises funds for. Philanthropic giving to medical research and healthcare programmes is in the early stages locally. Investments in these programmes ensure that the nation’s healthcare needs can be met now and in the future. The Foundation’s challenge is to highlight opportunities to nurture this form of philanthropy in Singapore. Support for this inaugural games event shows that corporates here are ready to support this worthy cause as part of their corporate social responsibility efforts. Coupling the charitable aspect with a fun event promoting workplace health is what we hope will be a winning formula for years to come” said Professor Tan Ser Kiat, Chairman of the SingHealth Foundation.
Keppel Offshore & Marine topped the list of participating corporates with a donation of $100,000 to SingHealth Foundation. “Keppel Offshore & Marine is happy to be associated with SingHealth Foundation in their pursuit of innovative medical research to improve the quality of lives. We share their spirit of enterprise in seeking the common good of human kind ” said Mr Choo Chiau Beng, Chairman and CEO of Keppel Offshore & Marine.
“Sports and community involvement connect and engage people. This SingHealth Foundation initiative is innovative and promotes active corporate citizenry while making a worthwhile contribution to improving the future of healthcare. It is encouraging to see such enthusiastic support from the corporate community” said Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports who was Guest of Honour at the event.
Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, presented prizes and trophies to the winning teams for each of the 6 sporting games and the overall corporate champion at the end of the day long games event.
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Annexe A
SINGHEALTH FOUNDATION “ALL FOR CURE, CURE FOR ALL” CORPORATE GAMES
List of Participating Corporates & Sponsors
Diamond Partner ($100,000)
1) Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd
Gold Partner ($50,000)
2) Lee Foundation*
Bronze Partner ($10,000)
3) Amtek Engineering Ltd
4) Merck Sharp & Dohme (Singapore) Ltd
5) Singapore Shipping Corporation Limited*
6) Transmedic Pte Ltd
CURE Partner ($5,000)
7) Allen & Gledhill
8) Asia Pacific Breweries Limited
9) Becton Dickinson
10) DBS Bank Ltd
11) GE Pacific Pte Ltd*
12) ipac Financial Planning Singapore
13) KPMG*
14) Philips Electronics Singapore Pte Ltd*
15) Pioneer Electronics Asiacentre Ptd Ltd
16) Siemens Pte Ltd*
17) Singapore Aero Engine Services Pte Ltd
18) Singapore Technologies Electronics Limited
19) Xilinx Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
Event Partner Partners in Sport
20) Singapore Health Services Pte Ltd 21) Singapore Totalisator Board*
22) Singapore Pools (Private) Limited
Product Partners
World of Sports
Mizuno
Columbia
Vitagen Less Sugar
Event Supported by
Singapore Sports Council
* Outright donation, no team representation at the games
About SingHealth Foundation
Objective: To receive contributions and donations for the pursuit of medical research and development, education and training, and the provision of health-related services in Singapore.
Vision: To become a leading philanthropic organization that invests in and provides world-class healthcare solutions to continuously improve patient care.
The SingHealth Foundation (SHF) is a non-profit organization that raises funds to support healthcare programmes. It was established in 2002 as a non-profit grant making organization whose purpose is to raise funds in support of medical research, education and healthcare services at SingHealth. SHF is an institution of Public Character (IPC) under the Ministry of Health; it abides by the Ministry’s Health endowment fund Minimum Operating Rules as well as by the recommendations of the Council of Governance of IPC with respect to governance, grant administration and fundraising activities.
It strives to improve the quality of healthcare for Singapore’s future generations through its four core focus areas: Cord Blood Bank, Understanding Patient Care, Research and Education or “CURE”.
SHF is governed by a board of trustees comprising talented and respected individuals from the healthcare industry and community with strong ties to business and philanthropic organizations.
Sources of funding for the SHF come from donations from the SingHealth group of institutions, government foundations, corporates and individuals.
SHF has 10 staff who oversee grant-making, fundraising, finance and day-to-day operations. Donations from SingHealth are sufficient to cover administrative and operating costs incurred by SHF. All funds raised by SHF are channeled directly to the causes it supports.
Causes SHF Supports:
Cord blood bank
Singapore Cord Blood Bank – Singapore’s only public cord blood bank which aims to process and store cord blood units to provide patients with a better chance of finding an ethnically related life-saving cord blood unit match.
Understanding Patient Care
Programmes that take patient care a step further, directly into the lives of patients and their healthcare needs. e.g The SGH Home Care Programme that provides financial and medical assistance to needy and frail elderly by equipping them with post hospitalisation basic equipment and therapy for continuing rehabilitation at home.
Research
Funding efforts by our researchers to catalyse the bench-to-bedside progression of fundamental discoveries in the fields of cancer, childhood disorders, eye diseases, neurosciences and stem cell research.
Education
Investing in healthcare professionals to acquire new skills and knowledge to meet the growing healthcare needs of tomorrow. e.g the SingHealth Alice Lee Institute of Advanced Nursing – funded by a donation from the Lee Foundation to provide comprehensive nursing specialization programmes and practice-based training for all levels of nursing staff.
SingHealth Foundation website: http://www.singhealth.com.sg/foundation