On Friday, 4 April 2008, staff, retailers and partners of Singapore Pools had the honour of having tea with President S R Nathan and Mrs Nathan at the Istana. The tea party was held to recognize staff volunteerism in Singapore Pools and the efforts of staff and partners in raising funds for President Challenge.
The i-SHINE Staff Community Programme was started in 2003 and today, over 34% of Singapore Pools staff are volunteering in five teams:
- Earth Buddiz which promotes a green environment and nature appreciation.
- i-CARE which befriends the children from the Metta School.
- i-Friend which provides companionship to the elderly in the Society for the Aged Sick.
- P.A.L which promotes active ageing with the Singapore Action Group of Elders.
- Tender Love & Care (TL&C) which enriches the lives of children from the SunBeam Home through a reading programme and other activities.
i-SHINE teams combine resources annually to raise funds for their causes at annual charity bazaars. The company supports the i-SHINE Programme by granting staff volunteers two extra days of leave a year and a modest budget for each team to carry out their activities.
From 2007, i-SHINE teams have come together to raise funds for President’s Challenge. Over 20,000 National Stadium Commemorative Mugs were sold to raise over $175,000 for President’s Challenge 2007 and in January 2008, i-SHINE was the first group to fund-raise for President’s Challenge 2008 by raising over $130,000 from the sale of Lunar New Year hongbaos. The company’s partners in these projects were Singapore Sports Council and Heartware.
Affirming the Company's commitment to staff voluntarism, Mr Tan Soo Nan, CEO, Singapore Pools (Pte) Ltd said in his speech: “Giving money is not sufficient …If we can bring tears of joy to those whose lives we have touched we would already have accomplished much more than the normal acknowledgement given to us for our corporate giving …What is most heartening is that some members of i-SHINE are already bringing family members and friends to participate in the i-SHINE programme.”
