Four awards affirm SP’s sustained philanthropy, strong volunteerism culture and inclusive practices to support communities in need

Singapore, 25 October 2023 – SP Group (SP) has received a record four accolades at this year’s Community Chest Awards, including the highest accolade – the Pinnacle Award – recognising one organisation each year for its holistic efforts in caring for the community. SP also received the Charity Platinum Award, Enabler Award, and Volunteer Partner Award.

Since 2005, SP has set up programmes in partnership with Community Chest to support social service users from lower-income backgrounds. The company has expanded its outreach to beneficiaries across the age spectrum – from seniors to youth and children. SP’s Group Chief Executive Officer Stanley Huang received the awards at the event presided by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the Istana this evening.

Mr Huang said, “SP Group is committed to sustained giving by funding programmes for seniors, children and youth, and creating pathways for our staff to volunteer their time and talent effectively. Through our partnership with Community Chest, we have been able to expand our reach and pioneer targeted and impactful initiatives for those in need. This year, SP is committed to extending close to S$5 million in philanthropic contributions, building on the S$5.1 million disbursed through Community Chest, and scaling up its volunteer outreach. The collective generosity of its staff, customers and business partners has enabled social service programmes to thrive and evolve to meet changing needs.”   

Empowering lives, for life

The SP Heartware Fund has raised more than S$20 million since it was established in 2005. SP has also sustained its scaled-up annual Power Packs initiative five-fold to enable 10,000 lower-income families to receive daily essential items. This year, the packs were also extended beyond seniors, to youth and children, with customised content for the different segments.

Since the launch of SP Kids at Heart in 2021, SP has also been supporting more than 5,000 KidSTART children and their families with learning tools, as well as initiatives to foster parent-child bonding and develop early childhood literacy. As KidSTART expands its coverage across Singapore, SP is working closely with them to develop new learning adventures that deepen engagement with participating families. In the past three years, SP has donated S$3.2 million towards KidSTART programmes.

Last year, SP also supported Care Corner Singapore’s Student Care Centres in providing more than 80,000 nutritious meals for 200 children from vulnerable and low-income families, helping them to grow and learn in a safe and nurturing environment. This year, SP has also extended S$350,000 in support of SHINE Children & Youth Services’ Collective Impact programmes at Spooner Road and Bukit Merah. More than 100 children and youth aged 5 to 21 years, living in rental flats, will benefit from this initiative aimed at improving their social mobility and helping to realise their potential in life.

SP has further expanded its reach in the youth segment by partnering Youth Guidance Outreach Services (YGOS). Through a S$750,000 donation, we enabled  YGOS to launch Singapore's first-of-its-kind mobile youth engagement outpost powered by an electric vehicle, which includes free charging using SP’s EV charging network islandwide. The funding also enabled the refurbishment of two youth centres in Woodlands and Ang Mo Kio and ramped up operations in Jurong, to expand YGOS’ outreach to at-risk youths.

In amplifying fundraising efforts for the SP Heartware Fund, SP provides platforms for its customers and business partners to make donations through the SP app and donation appeals via the monthly utilities bills. Our business partners also contribute to the annual SP Charity Golf, which raised a record S$700,000 this year. SP matches dollar-for-dollar donations made by its staff to the Fund, and underwrites all fund-raising and operational costs of the Fund and its programmes, so that all donations will go fully to the social service organisations.

Strong volunteerism culture

Staff volunteers, known as SP Heart Workers, organise outreach activities for social service users throughout the year. Besides Power Packs, activities include games and recreation, exercise sessions and outings for seniors, packing and distributing learning resources and conducting reading programmes for children, as well as sports activities and learning journeys for youth.

Earlier this month at its inaugural Volunteers Festival, SP also launched Heart at Work: A Guide to Corporate Volunteering, to strengthen the spirit of volunteerism amongst its staff, both in their professional and personal capacity. The guide contains practical tips to address common areas of interest and encourages all business units to volunteer throughout the year.

• Download Heart at Work: A Guide to Corporate Volunteering: https://spgrp.sg/heartatwork
• Highlights of SP Volunteers Festival 2023: https://spgrp.sg/VFestHighlights

The Community Chest Awards event is held annually to honour organisations and individuals in Singapore who have made outstanding contributions to the social service sector to care for the less fortunate in the community.

For more information on SP Group’s community efforts, please visit https://spgrp.sg/csr.

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About SP Group

SP Group is a leading utilities group in the Asia Pacific, empowering the future of energy with low-carbon, smart energy solutions for its customers. It owns and operates electricity and gas transmission and distribution businesses in Singapore and Australia, as well as sustainable energy solutions in Singapore, China, Thailand and Vietnam.

As Singapore’s national grid operator, about 1.6 million industrial, commercial and residential customers benefit from its world-class transmission, distribution and market support services. These networks are amongst the most reliable and cost-effective worldwide.

Beyond traditional utilities services, SP Group provides a suite of sustainable and renewable energy solutions such as microgrids, cooling and heating systems for business districts and residential townships, solar energy solutions, electric vehicle fast-charging stations and digital energy solutions for customers in Singapore and the region.

For more information, please visit spgroup.com.sg or follow us on Facebook at spgrp.sg/Facebook, LinkedIn at spgrp.sg/Linkedin and Instagram at spgrp.sg/Instagram.