UBS, staff donate over $1m to ST School Pocket Money Fund
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UBS Singapore volunteers at a charity event. The bank's staff contributed to the sum donated to the ST School Pocket Money Fund, which helps children from low-income families with their schooling needs.
PHOTO: UBS SINGAPORE
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Swiss investment bank UBS has marked its 50th anniversary in Singapore with a $500,000 donation to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (STSPMF), to help children from low-income families with their schooling needs.
UBS Asia-Pacific president Edmund Koh has also made a personal donation of $500,000 to the same fund, said the bank yesterday.
UBS Singapore staff also contributed to a Giving.sg fund-raising campaign for STSPMF, which was matched by the bank, bringing the sum to $51,985.
The donations to STSPMF come ahead of ChildAid 2020, which is organised by The Straits Times and The Business Times. The annual concert, in its 16th edition, will be held online today from 8pm.
The show, which promises a cutting-edge, 360-degree immersive video experience this round, benefits STSPMF and The Business Times Budding Artists Fund.
The latter fund supports lessons in the performing and visual arts for financially disadvantaged children who are artistically talented.
"We hope more people will tune in to this first-ever virtual ChildAid concert and generously donate to this meaningful cause to help fulfil the aspirations of our future generation in Singapore," said UBS' Mr Koh.
Mr August Hatecke, UBS Singapore country head, added: "As we position UBS for the new normal, we also saw a need to expand our social support to the wider community.
"By helping one another and standing together in solidarity, we will be able to overcome this crisis and emerge stronger and more united."
This year's ChildAid concert will mark two key milestones - The Straits Times' 175th anniversary and STSPMF's 20th anniversary.
STSPMF was started on Children's Day in 2000 with the aim of helping children from low-income families who were attending school without proper breakfast or pocket money to sustain their day.
To ensure that no child went hungry during the month-long school holidays - which were brought forward during the circuit breaker period to start on May 5 - the fund pledged up to $2 million for meal subsidies, with the Ministry of Education matching every dollar distributed.
More than 47,000 primary and secondary school students from low-income families benefited from this initiative.
Since its inception, the fund has helped close to 180,000 children and young people in need and disbursed more than $75 million. The fund disburses about $6 million yearly, which helps around 10,000 needy students.
