UOB Malaysia employees participate in the first UOB Global Heartbeat Virtual Run/Walk to support vulnerable children impacted by the pandemic
The Bank raised RM65,000 for Food Aid Foundation in its latest fundraising initiative which is part of UOB Group’s global #UnitedForYou COVID-19 Relief Programme
Kuala Lumpur, 9 November 2020 – UOB Malaysia’s colleagues and family members united to raise RM65,000 for the UOB Global Heartbeat Virtual Run/Walk. The money raised will be donated to Food Aid Foundation to help vulnerable children whose lives have been disrupted by the pandemic.
Given the need for people to maintain safe distances around the world as part of combating the spread of COVID-19, this year UOB Group held its annual Heartbeat Run/Walk virtually across 17 markets. This is the first time in the UOB Heartbeat Run/Walk’s history that the event was conducted virtually since its launch in 2007. As part of the virtual event, UOB Malaysia pledged to donate RM1 for every kilometre that participants were able to achieve collectively.
Mr Wong Kim Choong, Chief Executive Officer, UOB Malaysia, said, “Vulnerable communities are the first to feel the pinch of the pandemic, especially children coming from single parent households and socio-economically challenged backgrounds. We hope that through our collective efforts, we can help those in need of assistance during these trying times by providing them with the daily necessities that will sustain and support them for the coming months.”
The money donated to Food Aid Foundation will be used to buy basic provisions such as rice, oil and fresh produce to help more than 550 underprivileged children from 15 shelter homes and orphanages.
Mr Rick Chee, Founder of Food Aid Foundation, said, “Most local charities depend on donations from the public to help the underprivileged. However, this pandemic has led to a drastic decrease in funding which is needed to help ease the burden on vulnerable communities, especially children. We are very appreciative that UOB Malaysia can support us in our endeavour to help the children and to make sure they have access to nourishing meals.”
Ibu Maryam from Rumah Anak-Anak Yatim dan Ansaf Qaseh Ibu1 said, “The last few months have been a real struggle for us as we try to provide enough food to feed 43 children in our shelter home. We are very grateful to UOB Malaysia and Food Aid Foundation for their generous contribution as this would help to lighten our load and to keep us going during this stressful year.”
The UOB Global Heartbeat Virtual Run/Walk is one of the initiatives under UOB Group’s #UnitedForYou COVID-19 Relief Programme, which has been supporting vulnerable communities over the last three months to help ease their burden during the pandemic. In June, the Bank raised RM300,000 for the UOB Heartbeat COVID-19 Relief Fund which was distributed equally among the Hope Foundation, Dignity for Children Foundation and World Vision Malaysia.
The UOB Heartbeat Run/Walk is the Bank’s annual fundraising and volunteering event that brings together UOB Malaysia’s colleagues and their families for a good cause. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the Bank organised the event virtually across 17 markets namely; Australia, Brunei, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Vietnam.
1 Rumah Anak-Anak Yatim dan Ansaf Qaseh Ibu is a home that seeks to provide shelter and care for underprivileged and vulnerable children. They currently have 43 children between the age of one to 17 residing in the home.