A SMILE for Smallholder Inclusion
There is yet another reason for Indonesia’s independent oil palm smallholders to SMILE! Apical and Asian Agri have joined forces with Kao Corporation to launch an 11-year programme to help...
Over the last several months, RGE companies around the world celebrated the inaugural Founder’s Day by reaching out to their local communities. In line with RGE’s operating principle of doing good for the community, country, climate, customer and company, staff identified activities and causes to volunteer their personal time for a day. With the activities bringing both much-needed services and plenty of smiles to beneficiaries and members of the communities, Founder’s Day is now set to be an annual event across all business groups in 2020.
Founder’s Day in China: Clean Environments; Healthy and Resilient Communities; Fostering Sustainable Practices
In China, nearly 2,000 staff volunteers from 11 business units participated in over 20 community service activities throughout the entire month of August. The community service programmes served almost 9,000 direct and over 17,000 indirect beneficiaries. The activities included spring cleaning and cleanup at child and elder care centres, beaches, lakes and parks. There were also numerous activities aimed at bolstering resiliency and environmental awareness in the communities, as RGE’s business groups in China engaged the community in educational seminars, lessons, garbage-sorting exercises, and supporting underprivileged children who excel in school.
Founder’s Day in Indonesia: Empowering the Young; Planting Hope for a Healthier Sustainable Future; Revitalising our Communities
In the last week of August 2019, more than 1,300 staff volunteers in Pangkalan Kerinci engaged in over 50 activities across seven locations: Lalang Kabung Village, Simpang Perak Jaya Village, Benai Kecil Village, Tanjung Padang Village, Sei Meranti, Pergam Village, and SMK 1 Pangkalan Kerinci. The community service activities included painting fences, planting fruit seeds and medicinal plants, school outreach, and infrastructural repairs and renovation works. Volunteers also ran health and environmental awareness campaigns, distributed infant nutritional packages, and even conducted cooking demonstrations for infant and toddler nutrition. For a snapshot of the many RGE Founder’s Day activities in Pangkalan Kerinci, please check out Asia Pacific Rayon’s (APR) account of their day of volunteering!
On a fine day on 27 September 2019, over 400 staff volunteers in Jakarta set off to five different locations to demonstrate values in action. Volunteers at Pitung Village in Marunda, North Jakarta engaged in a wide range of spring cleaning activities, gardening and equipment repairs. Volunteers at PAUD Bougenville and PAUD Riang in North Jakarta and PAUD Cempaka 7 in South Jakarta led activities in storytelling, classroom lessons and games, spring cleaning, encouraging children and staff to develop environmentally friendly habits, and also partook in a group exercise to the omnipresent tune of Baby Shark. Volunteers at RPTRA Akasia in South Jakarta helped cleaned up its library, garden, pond and hall, in addition to repainting parts of its facilities for sports and games.
Founder’s Day in Singapore: Engaging Stroke Survivors and the Less-Privileged
11 November 2019 saw 70 RGE staff across all business groups in the UOB and Kaki Bukit offices head out for the Singapore edition of Founder’s Day. Following in the heels of RGE Founder’s Day events in China, Kerinci and Jakarta, the Singapore event saw RGE staff volunteers carrying out three different community activities. Two were held in partnership with Stroke Support Station (S3), a wellness centre for stroke survivor rehabilitation established in 2016 with Tanoto Foundation as a founding donor. The third was with Willing Hearts Charity Centre where volunteers served morning meals to underprivileged families at the soup kitchen.
