Mr Wee Ee Cheong, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, UOB, applying the finishing touches to his bamboo craftwork as part of UOB’s festive fundraising drive
The global COVID-19 pandemic did not put a stop to UOB Commercial Banking’s annual festive fundraiser this Lunar New Year. Despite being unable to gather together physically, UOB and its Commercial Banking clients have raised more than $500,000 through a series of bamboo art workshops, held in accordance with safe management measures.
Bamboo was chosen for its robustness, resilience and relevance to Asia, symbolising the strength and cohesiveness of local communities in facing and overcoming COVID-19 challenges together. It also reflects UOB’s commitment to creating benefit for the generations to come and is the key feature of UOB’s latest corporate sustainability campaign, “Forging a sustainable future”.
As part of the Bank’s fundraising efforts, more than 20 UOB Commercial Banking clients learnt about traditional bamboo art and its versatile use in furniture-making during their respective bamboo art workshops, which will take place until the Lunar New Year. Each client carved and painted auspicious Chinese greetings on eco-friendly bamboo panels as they look forward to a better year ahead. The Bank also matched its clients’ donations dollar for dollar, up to $250,000.
One customer who participated in the workshop is Mr Goh Yeow Lian, Chairman, Wee Hur Holdings Limited. Mr Goh said, “The inability to hold physical fundraisers will not stop us from contributing back to the community, especially towards those who are more vulnerable. During the session, I was again reminded of our community’s committed efforts in facing the pandemic with resilience and unity. I am glad that UOB has presented an opportunity for us to do good this Lunar New Year in a safe, sustainable and meaningful way.”
This series of bamboo art workshops are the first round of UOB Commercial Banking’s annual Lunar New Year charity fundraising activities this year. More than half of the funds raised will go towards The Business Times Budding Artists Fund1 and The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund2 to support children from financially-disadvantaged backgrounds, enabling them to discover and to nurture their talent in art as well as to help them through school. The rest of the funds will go towards supporting education and local small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) innovation under the UOB-Singapore Management University Asian Enterprise Institute (UOB-SMU AEI)3. The support will provide for enhanced learning experiences to students from the UOB-SMU AEI and help local SMEs to strengthen their resiliency and capabilities as they navigate challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
1 The Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BT BAF) originated from a conviction that no child with the strong interest and potential in the arts should be denied the opportunity to develop his or her talents due to a lack of financial resources. BT BAF aims to level the playing field and reaches out to children and youths from financially disadvantaged backgrounds, ages six to 19, providing opportunities and access to the arts.
2 The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund was started in 2000 as a community project initiated by The Straits Times to provide pocket money to children from low-income families to help them through school. The children can use this money for school-related expenses, such as buying a meal during recess, paying for transport or using it to meet other schooling needs. The financial help also eases the burden of the many parents who are already struggling to feed their families on their meagre incomes.
3 The UOB-SMU Asian Enterprise Institute, established by UOB and Singapore Management University, facilitates the exchange of knowledge and resources in order to support the growth and development of local enterprises and students of the University. https://usaei.smu.edu.sg/
