Singapore, 24 December 2013 – Christmas is a time for caring and sharing, a season when people come together for joyous celebrations. 70 StarHub employees—affectionately known as StarHubbers—did exactly that this Christmas Eve morning, as they shared their team-bonding Christmas Party with 44 young children of ex-offenders.
Held at Ramada Singapore, the StarHubbers partnered the children in three hours of fun and games such as Musical Chairs, Pass the Parcels and Shrinking Paper Island.
“StarHubbers believe in working hard and playing hard,” shared Ms Jeannie Ong, Chief Marketing Officer, StarHub, “and when we are having fun, we especially want to include the less fortunate amongst us That is why we arranged a Christmas get-together to bond with colleagues from other departments and really spread the joy of Christmas. StarHub is a company with a heart and we thought we would love to share some of the Yuletide cheer with children who may not be as fortunate as others, so that they too can enjoy the festive season.”
StarHub’s young guests, who came with their parents, are beneficiaries of the Yellow Ribbon Fund-ISCOS Fairy Godparent Programme. Earlier this year in August, StarHub had invited some 22 families under ISCOS’ care to the StarHub Family Day at Wave House Sentosa.
“StarHub believes in the importance of family ties,” continued Ms Ong, “and we especially want to nurture children, to give them what their peers enjoy. Beyond that, we also want to help them realise their dreams—for themselves, their families and even society. That is why StarHub is also very happy to be the title sponsor of the StarHub-ISCOS Bursary Award 2014.”
Before the festivities, Ms Ong had presented a cheque of $80,000 from the StarHub Sparks Fund for the Bursary Awards to Mr Patrick Ng, Executive Director, ISCOS and Ms Leonie Tan, Secretary for Yellow Ribbon Fund.
The StarHub-ISCOS Bursary Award is a major component of the Yellow Ribbon Fund-ISCOS Fairy Godparent Programme. It encourages ex-offenders’ children to perform well in school and be rewarded with a cash bursary at the end of the school term. A one-time cash award ranging from $300-$500 is given to students who have attained 55% or equivalent and above in their final exam results.
“We thank StarHub for adopting the YRF-ISCOS Fairy Godparent Programme as one of its supported initiatives, and for finding ways to touch the lives of our beneficiaries. The StarHub-ISCOS Bursary Award 2014 demonstrates our shared belief that a good education is the way to help disadvantaged children out of the poverty cycle,” said Mr Patrick Ng.
“We are very honoured to have the kind support from StarHub during this festive season to celebrate Christmas with our children from YRF. Thank you StarHub for bringing some Christmas cheers to the children of our inmates and ex-offenders,” said Mr Phillip Tan, Chairman of the Yellow Ribbon Fund
After the games, StarHub staff handed out presents to the children based on the kids’ wish list. Some of the items included remote controlled cars, vouchers to buy items like bags for the next school year and trips to local attractions with their families. Everyone then sat down to a sumptuous Christmas feast that included smoked salmon and traditional delights like roast turkey with chestnut stuffing and a Christmas log cake.
Fairy Godparent Programme beneficiary Raja (not his real name), aged 14, exclaimed: “I had a lot of fun at this Christmas Party, especially playing the games! Thank you to StarHub for the presents, the food and the party! I am also very grateful to the StarHubber who fulfilled my wish of entry to Universal Studios for my family.”
“I love Christmas and this was a truly awesome way to celebrate it,” said Ms Judy Lim from StarHub’s Enterprise Business Group Marketing. “I am really glad that besides enjoying a party for ourselves, we could also share the warmth and joy with the children.”
Ms Ong shared that her Christmas wish is for a deeper integration of StarHub’s CSR and Marketing efforts. “We can pride ourselves on having a reliable network, being innovative and offering excellent customer service,” she said, “but at the end of the day, what sets us apart should be our strong and emotive brand. As CMO, I would like to lead the team to build on our strong brand to be a company that cares.”
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