SINGAPORE – For companies which want to do good for the community, identifying the right volunteer programme that taps the company’s strengths is key.

“What we validated was (that) having a clear volunteering focus for the organisation helps to secure leadership buy-in and support, and this, in turn, can turn idea into action,” said Ms Kathleen Chin, director of corporate responsibility (social impact and community investment) at professional services firm EY.

“When leaders come on board and say they are committed, they are able to secure resources from a manpower as well as budget standpoint.”

She gave the example of how healthcare company Eu Yan Sang staff talked about traditional Chinese medicine with seniors at Filos Community Services as part of their volunteer efforts.

Ms Chin was sharing preliminary findings from an EY study on a pilot project to encourage corporate volunteerism. She was speaking at the City of Good Summit, held at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre on Feb 22. The full report will be out in the second quarter of 2024.

Started by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre, in collaboration with the National Council of Social Service and the SG Cares Office in the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Project V aims to make it easier for workers to volunteer and for companies to give back.

EY came on board to do the study pro bono.

Under Project V, which took place from June to December 2023, around 2,000 staff from 11 companies and three public service agencies volunteered at 17 social service agencies.

At UOB, staff volunteers help primary school children with their homework in an after-school care centre run by non-profit organisation FaithActs.

During the home-based learning period at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the bank donated laptops to students and its staff taught them how to detect scams, create strong passwords and use tech devices responsibly, said Mr Leonard Tan, senior vice-president and head of group corporate social responsibility at UOB.

He added that UOB employees are entitled to three days of volunteer leave every year.

Ms Amelia Champion, head of communications at SP Group, which worked with social service agency Allkin Singapore, said its engineers ran science, technology, engineering and mathematics workshops for children, and other employees taught them to make Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.

The utilities firm has a committee of about 12 employees who liaise with social service agencies and coordinate volunteer activities, she added.

One of the committee members is Mr Nuhsyafiq Razak Effendi, a senior engineer with SP Group’s electricity operations team.

He spearheads a programme where volunteers from SP Group accompany seniors for grocery shopping or deploy a mobile grocery truck to their doorsteps.

He is also the key liaison with Youth Guidance Outreach Services, a social service agency serving at-risk youth. He organises sports engagement activities, including basketball and futsal, as well as befriending activities with young people.

Mr Nuhsyafiq, 34, joined the SP committee in 2023.

“In this role, I can bring greater influence and more ideas in serving the needs of our community by steering activities and bringing my colleagues alongside... It deepens the sense of purpose, cohesion and unity in the company.”

He said his company is supportive of employees taking time during work hours to do volunteer work, which helps him balance work and family commitments with volunteering.

Another corporate volunteer is Ms Cheryl Ling, a workplace safety and health officer at C&W Services, the facilities and engineering arm of Cushman & Wakefield. She was an activity facilitator at PCF Sparkle Care, leading arts and crafts sessions for the seniors.

Ms Ling, 33, said her earlier volunteer efforts during her schooldays had felt more like “going through the motions and somewhat obligatory”, but her present volunteer work was different.

“The highlight for me was the connections I made with the elderly beneficiaries. We would swop stories, and they would share bits of their life experiences, including how they got their names from their parents – a personal touch that made each encounter special,” she said.

Ms Ling even took her 65-year-old mother along to a tote bag painting session. Her mum enjoyed it so much that she became a volunteer too.

Ms Ling has since joined a team in C&W Services that organises the firm’s volunteering initiatives.

“There’s something about sparking joy in the elders that I find incredibly rewarding,” she said. “My personal connection with my grandparents has left me with a deep empathy for the older generation. They have endured more than we can imagine, yet they carry their burdens with a quiet strength.”