Building a giving nation in Singapore

Your Excellencies & Distinguished Guests,

Rotarians,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. I'm very happy to join you tonight for the installation of your new President and Board.
   

2. For many decades, Rotarians have been making a difference to people all over the world and in Singapore. Through eye operations in India, you have given the gift of sight. Through the provision of artificial limbs in Nigeria, you have given amputees the chance to walk again. In the Philippines, you helped children with cleft lips regain the confidence to make new friends and engage with activities around them.

3. The Rotary Club is ever ready to lend a hand wherever disaster strikes. Sometimes, the deep wounds of loss from tragedies abroad are felt intimately and painfully in Singapore. For example, we shared the loss of our Nepali friends when the country was struck by a deadly earthquake some months ago. A few weeks ago, we marked a Day of National Remembrance when 10 Singaporeans, including 8 young students, died in the earthquake in Sabah. In these very trying times, Rotarians rallied each other to raise funds for the victims. In so doing, you help communities to pick themselves up from the ruins, to rebuild their lives with fresh hope. Let me extend my thanks and appreciation to all of you for the very good work. Thank you very much!

4. At home, your efforts towards the community have also been significant. I understand that the Rotary Club's Global Grants have enabled efforts like counselling services to the mentally ill and equipping second-time drug offenders with life-skills. Thank you for taking on these challenging social issues and making a difference within our Singapore society as well.

5. Your efforts make our world a better place, and I want to acknowledge the leadership of Mrs Perlita Tiro, the outgoing President. Mrs Tiro, you have shown us that it is possible to balance family, worklife, and giving back to the community on top of being a very capable President of the Roarty Club. So, thank you.

6. Shortly, the baton will be handed to Mr Alan Tan, your 81st President. I understand that twice a year, Mr Tan closes his catering business for half a day so that his employees can serve the community. They can go out to serve vulnerable children and the elderly. So he leads by example. This is highly commendable and I would say that you have a very good and capable new President to lead the Rotary Club of Singapore. Indeed, the spirit of giving often needs to come from management in order to encourage a greater culture of service within the organisation. This will in turn contribute to a culture of Corporate Giving in Singapore.

7. In many organisations, in many companies, there is an enormous potential to do good and to do more. Many of you are distinguished leaders in your own industries. You run organisations and manage large talent pools. You exemplify Rotary's proud motto of “Service Above Self” through your various community outreach efforts.

8. Your Rotary Club also champions entrepreneurship through efforts like the Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In fact, I had the honour of attending this event in 2012. Initiative and resourcefulness lie at the core of the entrepreneurial spirit. It is also through this spirit that we can harness a great force for good.

9. I believe that many of you here have the resources, the talent, the networks, and the innovative spirit to take on societal problems. If you choose to dedicate your companies to issues that matter to our society, I believe that our country, our society will be a better place.
   

10. Ultimately, businesses prosper in the long-term when their surroundings are flourishing. Now, this is also captured in your second motto that: “One Profits Most Who Serves Best”.

11. Corporate Giving is critical to creating a cohesive and inclusive society, where organisations are invested in charitable causes. This si something that my ministry, MCCY, are working hard to achieve. To promote more Corporate Giving in Singapore. So we are working to help companies in their Corporate Giving journeys. We have partners in this effort, like the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre – or NVPC –, as well as the Community Foundation of Singapore. We work with companies to make it easier for companies in Singapore to Give. So we will be delighted to work with you individually as well as member of the Rotary Club to consider ways to embark on, or strengthen, your organisation's Giving programmes.

12. In fact, NVPC had recently announced that it would be developing a Singapore Roadmap for Corporate Giving. This roadmap will be adapted from the Civic 50 model in the United States. The Civic 50 recognises the 50 most civic-minded corporates in America, and NVPC will adopt the best practices from this model to guide Corporate Giving in Singapore. This roadmap will help to establish indicators that allow companies to shape and measure the impact of their Corporate Social Responsibility programmes. Hopefully, it will be a useful guide to help Corporates that may not know how, or where, to start Giving.

13. The Community Foundation of Singapore – or CFS – also provides useful services to companies. Many have made use of its services to ensure that their donations are channelled to meaningful and sustainable charitable programmes.

14. One such company is the Changi Airport Group, which set up the Changi Foundation with the help of CFS. The Changi Foundation does a lot of good work for the community. It helps to keep underprivileged, at-risk youth off the streets on Saturday nights, by giving them the chance to train up their football skills. They have a programme called the 'Saturday Night Lights' programme, which is jointly sponsored by Changi Foundation and SportCares Foundation. Youth receive formal football training and a healthy meal – all free of charge.

15. So there are many ways in which Corporate Giving can be part of your organisation. As Rotarians, you have pledged to put service before self, and you have steadfastly served communities, both local and abroad. You are leaders and advocates of self-sacrifice, of service. And we need people like you to be ambassadors for Giving at the workplace too. We need you to mobilise your colleagues, to inspire your board members, your management and your staff to participate in giving.

16. Let us take service to the next level, where companies, employees, and management are giving their profits, equity, skills, and heart to pressing issues of our time. If we all work together, I am confident that we can build a Giving Nation in Singapore, where a culture of Giving runs deeply in our society.

17. So on that note, I thank you very much and thank all of you for your wonderful service as Rotarians.