SINGAPORE, April 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (AmCham) is pleased to announce that it has selected the Yellow Ribbon Fund as its Adopted Charity for 2014. This selection extends the relationship with the Yellow Ribbon Fund as AmCham also chose the charity as its inaugural Adopted Charity last year.
Launched by the former Singaporean President S. R. Nathan in 2004, the Yellow Ribbon Fund aims to administer funding to the development and implementation of reintegration programs for inmates and ex-offenders.
Simon Kahn, Chairman of the AmCham Board of Governors, explained, "Over our more than 40 years in Singapore, AmCham and its members have a long history of giving back to the community. We chose the Yellow Ribbon Fund as our first Adopted Charity last year because of its unique ability to positively influence the business environment in Singapore through training potential members of the workforce. Yellow Ribbon does an outstanding job helping ex-offenders reintegrate into and reinvigorate society. We couldn't be prouder to continue our relationship and we look forward to working together throughout the year."
Chairman of the Yellow Ribbon Fund, Phillip Tan added, "As the first national charitable fund dedicated to help garner support for offender-related work, the Yellow Ribbon Fund is committed to help ex-offenders and their families reintegrate into the community. AmCham's strong support helps to support the work that we do and the Yellow Ribbon campaign needs everyone in Singapore to pitch in; as the largest foreign business chamber in Singapore, AmCham is demonstrating its support for our community's future."
Vice Chair of the AmCham Board of Governors Colin Low continued, "Although I am Singaporean, I only recently visited Changi Prison and was introduced to the Yellow Ribbon Fund Committee and its programs for the first time. There, I witnessed first-hand the work that Yellow Ribbon does in helping men and women receive a second chance to be productive members of society. More inspiring, Yellow Ribbon Fund programs encourage the inmates to form bonds and support for their family in a wide variety of ways. Yellow Ribbon's efforts are remarkable, inspiring, and humbling. All of us at AmCham are simply proud to be associated with the organization for an even better Singapore!"
AmCham and its member companies engage in corporate social responsibility activities throughout the year. The flagship event is AmCham's annual Corporate Community Day. Last year's event brought together over 2,000 volunteers from 82 organizations on a single day to benefit 9,000 individuals across Singapore. Working with Yellow Ribbon, AmCham's own event hosted 20 ex-offenders and their families at the Science Centre Singapore, where they participated in a treasure hunt, carried out science experiments, and enjoyed a day of family fun together. AmCham looks forward to working with Yellow Ribbon again this year in designing an event to support ex-offenders' success with their second chances.
