17 June 2006

To Raise Funds for Special Schools
To Purchase Equipment That Will Aid Students’ Development

Singapore, 17 June 2006 – StarHub goes the distance with its corporate customers at the StarHub Golf Invitational 2006, and raised S$333,000 to purchase equipment for 2,600 intellectually disabled children and youths from nine special schools.  The equipment will help to enhance these students’ education and skills training, and better enable them to lead fulfilling and independent lives.

Over 140 StarHub corporate customers and partners pitched their skills and scored for charity at the StarHub charity novelty holes -  “Drive-Further-for-Charity” and “In-the-Zone” challenges, at this StarHub annual event.

For the "Drive-Further-for-Charity" Challenge at Hole 9, StarHub donated $5 to charity for every metre driven from the tee. For the "In-the-Zone" Challenge at Hole 17, for every ball that lands on the green, StarHub donated $500 to charity, while every ball that lands inside the Zone, StarHub donated $1,000. The Zone area is defined to be 1.5m radius around the pin.

The nine special schools that benefited from the charity drive are – MINDS Guillemard Gardens School, MINDS Jurong Gardens School, MINDS Lee Kong Chian Gardens School, MINDS Towner Gardens School, MINDS Yio Chu Kang Gardens School, APSN Delta Senior School, APSN Tanglin School, APSN Katong School and APSN Chao Yang School.

“StarHub recognises that these students deserve our help and, more importantly, should be encouraged to lead more enriched lives.  Together with our corporate customers and partners, we hope our donation will work towards increasing public interest on the needs of these less privileged stratum of society, and provide tangible support for them to develop their potential to the fullest.  This will enable them to integrate better with our society,” said Mr Yong Lum Sung, Chief Operating Officer, StarHub.

"We are grateful to StarHub and its corporate customers for lending a helping hand to these children and youths, giving them Hopes and Dreams, and enabling them to lead independent lives.  It is most heartening to see the general public look beyond their disabilities, recognise their capabilities, and welcome them as friends and colleagues," said Mr Benedict Cheong, Chief Executive Officer, National Council of Social Service.

MINDS which stands for the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore, aims to maximise the potential and ability of intellectually disabled children and youths through special education, to enable them to live independent lives.

APSN, or the Association for Persons with Special Needs, caters to the needs of the mildly intellectually disabled children and youths with an IQ range between 50 and 70, providing them with special education and training to equip them with the necessary skills and attitude to lead normal independent lives in their adulthood.

Since StarHub was established in 2000, it has donated close to S$2 million dollars to help the needy.  It has helped to provide experiential benefits for the less fortunate, as well as widen their opportunities in life.  They are particularly keen in promoting learning to bring about more life enrichment and empowerment for those who have special needs or learning disabilities.