SINGAPORE - More than 4,000 employees of UOB, their families and the bank's customers took part in an annual charity event on Sunday to raise $1 million for underprivileged children in Singapore.

Some participants of the UOB Heartbeat Run/Walk walked a 3 km route while others ran 10 km along East Coast Park, before enjoying a family carnival.

The sum they raised will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Government under the Care and Share Movement, and donated to the ASPN Katong School, Minds Towner Gardens School and the Pathlight School, UOB said in a press release.

"These schools give children with special needs the opportunity to discover and develop their creative talent through education, early skills intervention and rehabilitation through art," the bank said.

Across the region, about 6,000 of the bank's employees and customers in Malaysia, Indonesia, China and Hong Kong also held similar events to raise funds for beneficiaries that give children with disabilities access to art education and therapy in each market.

"Our run today is about having a healthy heart in every sense of the word," said Mr Wee Ee Cheong, UOB's deputy chairman and group chief executive officer. He joined runners in the 10 km route in Singapore on Sunday.

UOB has donated more than $4 million in Singapore since its Heartbeat Employee Volunteer Programme was launched in 2007.