COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS FOR OUR COMMUNITY

2008 has been a challenging year. Many corporations have been affected financially by the global economic meltdown and this has had a direct impact on their CSR commitments.

In spite of the downturn in 2008, CDL has remained committed to our extensive range of community programmes. Our strategy has always extended beyond philanthropic donations and our support has included sustainable contributions in the form of active employee voluntarism, initiating and implementing community outreach programmes, tapping on our wide network of resources and contacts to collectively help aid and effectively serve the community we operate in.

We are happy to report that with active employee engagement via a wide range of programmes and events in 2008, CDL employees contributed over 2,600 hours of community work, an increase of 4%. Participation rate also increased from 50% in 2007 to 66% in 2008. We are happy to report that this exceeds our 2008 targets which are set at 50% employee volunteer participation and 2,500 employee volunteer manhours per year.

Recognising that the community needs our help most when times are bad, we have not reduced our investment in the community in 2008.

We expect 2009 to be even more tenuous as the impact of the economic recession will be more hard felt in the community. Nevertheless, we remain steadfast in continuing to support our long-standing beneficiaries as we weather this financial storm together. To combat this, we aim to innovatively stretch our resources and place our efforts and support in areas of greater need.

Our sustained strategy of focusing our community initiatives in the four core areas including the environment, the arts, youth development and the less fortunate will remain unchanged as we have developed stronger and more synergistic collaborations with our partners and beneficiaries which include public and private organisations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governmental agencies.

Apart from sustainable community programmes, we have also continued to employ a model of engaging our stakeholders beyond acts of philanthropy. For 10 years now, we have maintained active employee volunteerism through our employee volunteer platform, City Sunshine Club (CSC), and leveraged on them to lend their talent and expertise towards supporting the beneficiaries that require assistance. CDL employees were meaningfully engaged in helping the needs of the less fortunate through befriending, youth mentorship, sharing of expertise and pooling of resources to help community partners. For details on CSC, please refer here.

Caring for the Less Privileged

Singapore may be one of the most modern and affluent countries in Asia, but there are still many in our midst that needs a helping hand. Supporting the less privileged encompasses assistance to the elderly, sick, intellectually challenged and those disadvantaged by social circumstances.

For three consecutive years from 2007 to 2009, CDL employees together with their families, stepped up to lend a hand in the Special Olympics Challenge at the National Vertical Marathon organised by Nanyang Technological University Sports Club held at Republic Plaza. In February 2008, over 40 employee volunteers played buddies to 36 Special Olympians in completing the 60-storey relay race to the top of the building. In addition to sponsoring the venue, CDL also sponsored the CDL Corporate Challenge category to encourage our office tenants, partners and business associates to adopt a healthy lifestyle by participating in the vertical marathon.

Bringing some festive cheer to the elderly, CSC volunteers brought some 60 residents from Henderson Senior Citizens' Home to a sumptuous lunch at CDL's Grand Shanghai restaurant to celebrate Lunar New Year. The residents enjoyed themselves immensely, many singing and dancing to evergreen tunes by the live band. Ending the day on a high note, the residents were also presented with hongbaos donated by Hong Leong Foundation.

CDL employees turned up in full force to support the Assisi Hospice Charity Fun Day 2008 in May. The Group took up a 37-metre long pavilion offering delectable delicacies as well as exciting games for the young and old. Some 225 employees from the Group volunteered and chalked up about 1,200 volunteer manhours for the event. In the spirit of fun and competition, the stalls competed against each other, aiming to make the most sales for the day. The event was a wonderful success, attracting some 10,000 visitors and raising about S$600,000 for the Hospice. CDL has been a long-term corporate partner to Assisi Hospice since 1999, a charity organisation that provides palliative care to adults and children suffering from cancer and other life-limiting illnesses.

Every year, CDL makes it a point to engage Assisi Hospice to evaluate the efforts of the year and to also discuss the possible collaborative efforts in the coming year. This makes the relationship more productive as we can make certain that our contributions are more resourcefully utilised and made more meaningful.