By THERESA TAN
Page:H10

NATIONAL VOLUNTEERISM & PHILANTHROPY AWARDS

Transport operator one of several to win award for helping in worthy causes.

It doesn’t just adopt charities to donate money to. It also has its senior staff sit on the boards of these charities, or work closely with them to see how they can help.

For example, its vice-president for corporate marketing and communications Goh Chee Kong sits on the board of Beyond Social Services, a charity SMRT had adopted previously.

Currently, the transport giant has under its wing Geylang East Home for the Aged, Ang Mo Kio Family Service Centres and Singapore Red Cross Society.

In its last financial year,SMRT gave $3.4 million, in cash and kind, to various charitable causes.

Said SMRT chief executive and president Saw Phaik Hwa: “We don’t want to be just another donor. It’s not about giving money and walking away.”

Ms Saw herself sits on the boards of a couple of non-profit groups.

In a climate in which charities find it hard to find volunteers to shoulder the responsibilities of board membership, SMRT has stepped up to the plate.

For its efforts, it has received this year’s Outstanding Corporate Citizen Award from the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC).

The award was bestowed last night at an annual ceremony to honour the best in volunteerism and philanthropy. President S R Nathan gave awards to winners in seven categories for corporations, non-profit groups and individuals.

The winners are all proof that there is plenty of good work being done which should not be overlooked, said NVPC chief executive, Mrs Tan Chee Koon, in an earlier interview.

“One charity does not constitute the whole sector,” she said, responding to suggestions that Singaporeans have become more wary of charities, with the on-

going probe into Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre over possible financial irregularities.

She added: “Probes tend to focus on the negatives and the positives tend to get overlooked.”

A more positive outcome is that the donating public become more discerning as they start to ask “more intelligent” questions of the charities they want to support, she said.

Agreeing, Mr Lawrence Khong, chairman of Touch Community Services, which won the Outstanding Non-Profit Organisation Award, said: “It’s very good that there’s more accountability to the public.”

But equally, an atmosphere of suspicion could be counter-productive.

“Let’s go after those doing wrong, but let’s not forget about those doing right so they are not discouraged from doing good work,” he added.

The good work goes on at SMRT, which marks its 20th anniversary this year by starting a Silver Tribute Fund to raise money for eight charities helping the elderly and their caregivers.

It is a subject close to Ms Saw’s heart as her late mother suffered from dementia. In addition to the fund, exhibitions have been held at train stations to make people aware of problems faced by seniors.

She said: “We have immense reach as we have about two million commuters every day. But beyond moving people, we want to think about how we can make lives better.”