SINGAPORE - A total of $619,809 was raised for underprivileged children by banking group Citi and its information technology partners at its 16th annual charity golf tournament and charity auction on Friday (Aug 24).
This is on top of $110,000 that was raised by Citi employees in June during their global community day activities.
The total amount raised, $729,809, will go to support ChildAid 2018, an annual charity concert that benefits two charity funds, The Straits Times (ST) School Pocket Money Fund, which gives an allowance to children from low-income families, and The Business Times (BT) Budding Artists Fund, which helps financially disadvantaged children to explore the arts.
The amount will be divided equally between the two funds.
At the gala dinner on Friday evening, the guest of honour was Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, who presented the cheque to ChildAid 2018 co-chairs Marc Lim and Helmi Yusof.
He was joined by Mr Paul McCarroll, who is head of Citi Technology Infrastructure and chief information officer of Citi Asia Pacific, and Mr Amol Gupte, who is Citi's Asean head and the country officer for Citi Singapore.
Mr Gupte said: "Our support stems from the belief that every child should have an equal opportunity to a full educational experience and be able to pursue their artistic passions."
Since 2002, the golf tournament has raised over $5.9 million for various adopted charities. This year, ChildAid was chosen as the beneficiary for the eighth year running.
A total of $4.215 million has been raised for ChildAid through the tournament since 2011.
Mr Helmi, who is BT arts correspondent, expressed his "utmost gratitude" to Citi for their contributions to ChildAid over the years.
Mr Lim, who is ST news editor, said: "The arts scene is increasingly becoming a pathway to success for young kids. ChildAid has been a good platform for budding talents to show off their skills."
