Chubb Organizes Community Outreach in Asia Pacific
SINGAPORE, Dec. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chubb's annual Regional Day of Service (RDS) in the Asia Pacific took place during the week of 8 – 12 November 2021, with employees in 10 markets participating in community outreach projects.
With coronavirus still impacting the region, our outreach efforts continued to focus on meeting the essential needs of our communities and increasing educational opportunities for underprivileged children.
Flexible strategies and virtual initiatives key to community engagement as Covid-19 evolves
Change is the only constant, and this has been our universal experience during the current pandemic. As our communities continue to cope with an evolving virus, Chubb volunteers from both the general and life insurance operations have stepped up and adapted their outreach programs to meet the changing needs of their respective communities.
Paul McNamee, Regional President for Chubb in Asia Pacific shared: "Even as the pandemic highlighted the fragility of human life, it has also shown us the power of our innate resilience and ability to adapt and innovate rapidly in a crisis. Chubb employees have been the embodiment of these qualities during this year's Regional Day of Service. We are proud of the way our staff volunteers adapted their activities so quickly to focus on making an impact on their communities, tapping into technology and our network of partners to execute their outreach programs safely across the region."
Brad Bennett, Chief Operating Officer of Chubb Life added: "Chubb remains committed to carry on the proud tradition of the Regional Day of Service in giving back to the communities where we live, work and serve. By focusing on the needs of our communities and improving access to education for the disadvantaged, we hope to effect positive change that is relevant and lasting. This is made possible by the passion and contributions of Chubb employees."
Localized Programs Ensure Resonance and Reflect Chubb's Cultural Diversity
Employees from 10 markets took part this year in a range of volunteer projects determined locally, reflecting the company's cultural diversity across the region. Participating markets included Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Regional Day of Service activities included events such as a beach clean-up and ceramic workshop; virtual engagements like fund-raising campaigns and workshops using digital platforms; and the donation of scholarship grants, IT equipment and other necessities.
Regional Day of Service Highlights
Hong Kong SAR
Hong Kong generates approximately 6 million metric tons of waste per year, and Covid-19 has exacerbated the amount of single-use plastic waste. To increase awareness of the issue and encourage employees to be part of the solution, a beach clean-up was organized by Chubb in Hong Kong on 9 November. 30 employee volunteers participated in the event at Shek O as part of the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup.
This was followed by a ceramic workshop on 11 November conducted by members of St. James's Creation, a creative platform started by St. James Settlement to provide people with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disabilities opportunities for artistic development and careers. Employees learnt to make beautiful ceramic cups which, together with educational learning packs, were delivered to underprivileged children supported by St. James Settlement.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, Chubb continued its support of the SOS Children's Village community (SOS) by raising funds and organizing virtual activities for the children and caregivers from SOS in Cibubur (East Jakarta), Semarang (Central Java) and Bali. Over 30 staff volunteers worked in smaller groups to organize virtual activities such as fun science experiments for the children and a fruit salad making competition for the caregivers.
Chubb also donated funds to help with the annual health and medical costs of 122 children and 18 caregivers from SOS. The donation will be administered by SOS over the year and can be used for medicine, vitamins, medical and dental check-ups, and medical emergencies.
Korea
In collaboration with the Heart-to-Heart Foundation, Chubb employees from the general and life insurance operations in Korea and their families once again came together to produce 500 special tourist guidebooks for the visually impaired. These booklets, made of tactile, large letters, braille, and voice contents, introduce five tourist attractions selected by the Korea Tourism Organization as being accessible to people with visual and mobility impairments, the elderly and families with young children.
Malaysia
In support of vulnerable groups affected by the pandemic and to raise awareness about food waste, 142 Chubb employees and business partners from Malaysia participated in the #CleanYourPlate Challenge by finishing a meal and submitting a photo of themselves with an empty plate.
Chubb donated RM40 (U$9.50) for every picture submitted, and the activity raised a total of RM5,680 (U$1,350) which was used to purchase essential supplies from Liquid ETC, a zero-waste store. These items were then donated to beneficiaries from Ti- Ratana Welfare Society and Yayasan Sunbeam Home.
New Zealand
Employee volunteers from New Zealand packed Christmas gift boxes for underprivileged children in support of the Catalytic Foundation's Christmas Shoebox Appeal.
Philippines
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, Chubb's general insurance operation and the Chubb Business Services unit collaborated to help the children of Maybunga Elementary School, a public elementary school serving an impoverished community in Pasig City, return to school safely.
Employees who are still working from home participated in a virtual fun run to raise funds through pledges for completing various running distances. Donations from the run were used to purchase school supplies, which were packed into 1,400 back-to-school kits by staff volunteers for students from Grades One to Three.
Singapore
In Singapore, Chubb continued collaborating with DBS Bank, a strategic partner and leading financial services group, to help low-income families supported by Beyond Social Services.
Employees donated to a virtual fund-raising campaign and raised over S$10,700 (U$7,850), which was used to purchase essential food supplies requested by the families. These items were purchased from TreeDots, a social enterprise that aims to reduce food waste by improving the efficiency of food distribution through its online platform.
In addition to delivering the food items to approximately 100 families, staff volunteers also worked with DBS Bank to provide virtual financial literacy lessons for children from low-income families during school holidays. They are also planning, together with DBS, to distribute 300 back-to-school care packs to underprivileged children and youth from the Ang Mo Kio neighborhood.
Taiwan
The homeless in Taipei have been one of the groups most affected by the pandemic. The challenges they face include the inability to purchase face masks and the loss of places to stay due to public park closures.
Working in collaboration with the Genesis Social Welfare Foundation which runs a program to support the homeless in Taipei, employees from both the life and general insurance operations raised NT$258,875 (U$9,300) through a virtual campaign and also donated items requested by the homeless as well as. In addition, Chubb donated 1,500 face masks, as well as NT$70,000 (U$2,500) which was used to purchase additional essential supplies.
Chubb Life's employees also organized a series of outreach activities from October to December. These include a blood donation drive, collecting 122 bags of blood for the Taiwan Blood Service Foundation; a children's sketching competition of the paddy fields at Inago Valley to increase awareness of environmental protection and the importance of rural revitalization; and the scanning and proof-reading of e-books, which will later be converted into braille and audio formats, to improve access to education for the visually impaired.
Thailand
Chubb Life Insurance in Thailand continued its support of the Teach for Thailand Foundation (TFT) by donating 10 laptop computers and financial support to help equip teachers with efficient teaching tools. 265 employees and independent distribution partners contributed to the online Fundraising Day, which raised THB45,176 (U$1,370) for the Foundation.
Meanwhile, Chubb's general insurance operation is organizing an online challenge from November to December to continue its efforts in raising awareness about plastic pollution. The "Say Yes to Less Plastic!" challenge was launched on Chubb's Facebook account and business partners, agents, brokers, Chubb staff and consumers are invited to submit captioned photos based on different themes such as "What do you do with plastic waste?", with all participants receiving small eco-friendly prizes. Submitted content will be used to create a guide to reduce plastic that will be shared with online followers.
In addition, students from 40 schools nationwide supported by the TFT network have been invited to take part in an online contest to create environmentally themed content such as drawings, videos and photos. At the end of the contest, 40 winners will be selected and a total of THB155,000 (U$4,710) disbursed as grants to help the winners with their education.
Vietnam
More than 1,600 school-age children in Ho Chi Minh City have lost their father, mother or both parents to the pandemic. To spread more kindness in the community, employees from Chubb in Vietnam prepared messages of encouragement for these children. In addition, the company donated VND1,000,000 (U$44) for every message created to the "Love for you" program launched by Workers Newspaper to take care of these orphans. The entire staff participated and a total of VND40,000,000 (U$1,760) was raised.
About Chubb
Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide.
Additional information can be found at: www.chubb.com.