DBS Bank announced today that it will be donating SGD 10.5 million to help communities hard hit by Covid-19 across the region. Through the “DBS Stronger Together Fund”, the bank will provide about 4.5 million meals and care packs to affected individuals across its six key markets, namely Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia and Taiwan. In India and Indonesia, where medical supplies are severely lacking, DBS will also fund the procurement of diagnostic test kits, ventilators and protective gear to help in the fight against Covid-19.
In addition to its donations, across the region, DBS is also rallying employees behind the cause, with a pledge to match funds raised.
Said DBS CEO Piyush Gupta,
“As we look across the region, Covid-19 is creating tremendous hardship for many, impacting both lives and livelihoods. In some of our markets, such as Indonesia and India, there is an acute shortage of medical supplies such as test kits, which is forcing healthcare workers to fight the Covid war blind. In other markets, including here in Singapore, the plight of the vulnerable has been exacerbated and some segments of the population are going hungry. The needs are truly enormous, and many in society have come forward to make a difference. As a key member of the community, we too want to stand in solidarity with our employees, clients and fellow Singaporeans to help those impacted, until the day we get through this crisis together.”
According to The Food Bank Singapore, the Covid-19 situation has resulted in an increase in demand for food support as more people are placed on no-pay leave or made redundant. On its part, The Food Bank Singapore, which distributes dry food rations or fresh produce to some 360 beneficiary organisations islandwide, has seen monetary and food donations fall sharply.
To address this, DBS is partnering The Food Bank Singapore and ItsRainingRaincoats in an SGD 2.5 million initiative to put food on the tables of the elderly, low-income and migrant workers. For a start, the bank will provide 200,000 meals to the elderly and low-income through The Food Bank Singapore’s “Feed the City – DBS Edition” programme. These meals will be procured from 15 F&B outlets, including Koufu Group, Chang Cheng Group, Wee Nam Kee and Gao Ji, which are SME clients of DBS. Hence, apart from providing food to those in need, DBS will also be giving much-needed support to the hard-hit F&B sector.
Through “Project Belanja”, another 100,000 meals will be provided to migrant workers supported by ItsRainingRaincoats.
A call by DBS to its employees to stand together in doing good will go out next week, with every employee meal pledge matched by the bank. DBS also hopes that the public will come alongside it: public donations towards meals for the elderly and lower-income can be made at https://www.giving.sg/campaigns/dbsfeedthecity, while donations towards meals for migrant workers can be made at https://www.giving.sg/campaigns/dbsprojectbelanja.
The bank will match dollar-for-dollar public funds raised for the two food programmes, up to a total of SGD 500,000. With the support of employees and fellow Singaporeans, DBS aims to provide a total of 700,000 meals to those in need.
