UOB Malaysia’s employees band together to raise more than RM350,000 at the 12th UOB Heartbeat Run/Walk
Kuala Lumpur, 7 Jul 2019 – More than 1,700 of United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (UOB Malaysia)’s colleagues, their families and friends united to raise more than RM350,000 for local children’s charities at the 12th UOB Heartbeat Run/Walk this morning.
The money raised will be donated to HOPE Worldwide Malaysia1, Teach for Malaysia2 and Yayasan Sunbeams Home3 and be used to help children from challenging socio-economic backgrounds realise their potential through education. This is the second year in a row that the Bank has supported these beneficiaries. The funds, distributed equally across the three charities, will be used for teacher training and English proficiency programmes across the country, as well as to help pay for tuition classes, school books and meals for the children.
The UOB Heartbeat Run/Walk, held annually, is the Bank’s main fundraising and volunteering event that brings UOB Malaysia colleagues and their families together for a good cause. It is part of the UOB Heartbeat Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Programme, which focuses on art, children and education. This year, participants gathered at the Putrajaya Water Sports Complex to run a ten-kilometre race or to participate in a fun three-kilometre family walk for charity.
Mr Wong Kim Choong, Chief Executive Officer, UOB Malaysia presented a cheque to the three beneficiaries at the event today.
“The UOB Heartbeat CSR programme demonstrates our long-term commitment to enriching lives, to opening minds and to strengthening bonds in the communities where we operate. This year, we continue to pledge our support to HOPE Worldwide Malaysia, Teach for Malaysia and Yayasan Sunbeams Home, organisations which are committed to improving the lives of children through quality education programmes. Through our support of these three charities, we are able to make a lasting impact and to help them continue to provide good educational facilities for children in underprivileged areas.”
This year’s UOB Heartbeat Run/Walk incorporated environmentally-sustainable practices to help reduce the event’s impact on the environment. UOB Malaysia, in partnership with the Malaysia Plastic Manufacturer Association, hosted a series of fun activities to help raise awareness of managing plastic waste. The Bank also placed plastic recycling bins throughout the venue to ensure proper disposal of plastic waste and removed the use of plastic wrapping from its race packs and t-shirts to reduce further dependency on single-use plastic.
The UOB Heartbeat Run/Walk was held simultaneously today in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. In all, a record high of 19,000 UOB colleagues, their families, customers and business partners took part in the event, and more than S$1.58 million (RM4.81 million) was raised for 15 charities across the region.
1 HOPE worldwide is an international, non-profit, non-religious organisation with a global presence. Spanning six continents and 100 nations, HOPE worldwide has grown from three programmes in 1991 to more than 150 programmes. It has five focus areas namely: Children, Education, Health, Senior Citizens, Employment and Volunteerism. More information: http://www.hopeww.org.my
2 Teach for Malaysia aims to help students facing socioeconomic challenges to realise their potential and to excel in education. The organisation has 350 fellows and alumni, serving in more than 120 schools in 10 states across Malaysia. More information: https://teachformalaysia.org
3 Yayasan Sunbeams Home, a non-governmental and self-funded multi-racial foundation, is home to displaced, abused and neglected children of single parents. More information: http://www.sunbeamshome.org