20 DBS EMPLOYEES LOSE THEIR LOCKS FOR A GOOD CAUSE
* * *
Bank's community initiative has, to date, raised over SGD 70,000
for Children's Cancer Foundation
SINGAPORE, 18 June 2009 – Twenty DBS Bank employees, including head of Consumer Banking Rajan Raju and Chief Risk Officer Elbert Pattijn, are bravely shaving their heads to stand in solidarity with children undergoing cancer treatment and to raise funds for the Children's Cancer Foundation (CCF). They are joined in this heartwarming endeavour by a DBS staffer's spouse - himself a brain tumour survivor - as well as an employee of AXS, a subsidiary of DBS.
The volunteer shavees will be losing their locks at a satellite Hair for Hope event being held at the bank's Shenton Way headquarters today. This is the first Hair for Hope satellite event organised by a corporate this year.
To date, the DBS shavees' courageous act has raised more than SGD 70,000 for CCF. Fund-raising by DBS will continue through June, and all proceeds will go towards CCF's therapeutic play and "Back to School"programmes. Through therapeutic play, the children are taught to cope with anxieties related to the illness in a fun manner; while the "Back to School"programme helps them transition back to school after treatment has been completed.
DBS' partnership with CCF is in line with the bank's commitment to support children in Asia in the area of learning. It is also in tribute to late CEO Richard Stanley, who passed away in April following complications arising from an infection due to leukemia. DBS said Stanley always believed that children are the future of Asia, and would have been gratified to see the bank's employees step forward to make the journey back to health for cancer-stricken children an easier one.
DBS' volunteer shavees believe that their loss of hair is a small sacrifice to make, especially if it can demonstrate to children with cancer that they are not alone in their fight against the illness.
Said Raju: "Cancer left a tremendous void in our bank's family this year. It is particularly poignant to see children suffering from cancer. The Hair for Hope event by CCF is a small way for us in the DBS family to show support to and raise awareness for these brave children who face an unknown tomorrow while dealing with cancer."
Added Pattijn: "Quite a few people in my immediate vicinity have been struck by cancer and I have witnessed the devastating effects of this illness. Cancer has a big physical and psychological effect on the people it affects. It is particularly heartbreaking when it strikes young people who should not have to face up to these challenges and we cannot do enough to support these patients."
CCF Chairperson Ravi Sivalingam said: "Every year, about 120 children are diagnosed with cancer. We, at CCF, are very grateful to DBS for organising its first Hair for Hope satellite event for its staff. This symbolic gesture of shaving heads to show support means a lot to our children who are courageously fighting cancer. With DBS' support, we hope to further raise public awareness of the physical, emotional and financial challenges that the children and their families face. During this economic downturn, the funds raised by DBS will be especially important to our beneficiaries."
Last year, six employees from DBS shaved their heads in the CCF Hair for Hope main event. Staff from the bank also voluntarily helped CCF set up a loan system to help it keep track of books and toys borrowed by children at two of its centres housed in Singapore hospitals.
Driven by the conviction that children are the future of Asia, DBS employees embarked on numerous community projects last year. This included bringing children from an Indonesian orphanage out on a farm trip, delivering educational gifts to low-income households in Singapore and collecting stationery for children in Cambodia. In all, over 2,000 DBS staff impacted 20,000 young lives across 11 markets in Asia.
About DBS
DBS is one of the largest financial services groups in Asia with operations in 16 markets. Headquartered in Singapore, DBS is a well-capitalised bank with "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings that are among the highest in the Asia-Pacific region.
As a bank that specialises in Asia, DBS leverages its deep understanding of the region, local culture and insights to serve and build lasting relationships with its clients. DBS provides the full range of services in corporate, SME, consumer and wholesale banking activities across Asia and the Middle East. The bank is committed to expanding its pan-Asia franchise by leveraging its growing presence in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to intermediate the increasing trade and investment flows between these markets. Likewise, DBS is focused on extending its end-to-end services to facilitate capital within fast-growing countries in Indonesia and India.
DBS acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in each of its 14,000 staff, representing over 30 nationalities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.
About Children's Cancer Foundation
Children's Cancer Foundation (CCF ) is a non-profit organisation impassioned with the mission of improving the quality of lives of children with cancer and their families through enhancing their emotional, social and medical well-being. Since 1996, CCF has helped more than 1,500 children and their families at its family support centres located at KK Women's & Children's Hospital (KKH) and the National University Hospital (NUH) providing them the much needed support in their battle against the life threatening illness. Armed with the vision of providing world-class resources and psycho-social services for children and families impacted by childhood cancer, CCF moves forward by restructuring to better meet the needs of our beneficiaries.
Towards the end of 2008, CCF adopted an integrated hospital-home-community service model for children and youths with cancer and their families. This model will enable CCF to efficiently assist them through the different stages of the illness and recovery and provide opportunities to develop new areas of services.
For a full list of our services and programmes, visit us at www.ccf.org.sg.