SINGAPORE - Around 250 senior management and staff volunteers from the CapitaLand Group took time off to help the less fortunate with its second CapitaLand Volunteer Day on Friday.
The volunteers' efforts this year focused on two children's homes, Melrose Home (Children's Aid Society) and Pertapis Children's Home. Volunteers are also helping identified beneficiaries from 16 residential units under voluntary welfare organisations.
Volunteers carried out "makeover" refurbishment works at each of the children's homes and residential units. Teams at children's homes painted walls and specially-designed mural art, as well as rearranged, repaired and assembled furniture to brighten up the living areas.
They also carried out home improvement works including cleaning, organising, painting, improving light fixtures, as well as rearranging, repairing and assembling furniture to help keep the beneficiaries' residential units less cluttered and more comfortable. The initiative benefits 150 children.
Lead by president and group chief executive officer Lim Ming Yan, the efforts saw CapitaLand staff devoting more than 2,000 man-hours through the Volunteer Service Leave - paid leave for staff to do volunteer work - taken by staff volunteers.
Mr Lim said: "For a company to be successful, we need to have good people who are not just professionally competent but also have good character. At CapitaLand, we are committed to invest in staff volunteerism by offering three days of paid Volunteer Service Leave each year. Donations aside, we believe volunteering makes a difference not just to the beneficiaries, but to the volunteers as well. Volunteering gives our staff a certain perspective of their role in society beyond being a professional."
The CapitaLand Volunteer Day was launched in Singapore on November 15, 2013 in conjunction with CapitaLand's anniversary as a group-wide platform to spur the spirit of volunteerism among CapitaLand employees.
The group has now chalked up 25,000 volunteer hours this year.