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UOB donates $500,000 to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund

SINGAPORE - UOB donated $500,000 to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (STSPMF) on Friday (Aug 12).

The donation will go towards supporting ChildAid 2022, an annual charity concert organised by The Straits Times and The Business Times, with STSPMF and The Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BTBAF) as the beneficiaries.

The multinational bank also donated $500,000 to BTBAF earlier this year in June.

Mr Eric Lian, UOB's head of group commercial banking, said: "We believe that education is integral to building a strong foundation for children and youth, and hope that our support of the ST School Pocket Money Fund will help equip them with the resources they need for school, especially during these challenging times."

The funds were raised through generous donations from small and medium-sized enterprise customers of the bank earlier this year.

Mr Warren Fernandez, chairman of the fund, editor-in-chief of SPH Media Trust's English, Malay and Tamil Media Group and editor of ST, said: "The (Covid-19) pandemic had an economic impact that was especially severe on those who are less well-off. With the help of regular donors such as UOB, it gives us the confidence that we are able to help our beneficiaries year in, year out."

Initiated by The Straits Times in 2000, the STSPMF provides pocket money to children from low-income families. The fund has disbursed more than $90 million to more than 200,000 children.

Around $7.8 million has been disbursed by the STSPMF since the start of this year.

In its 18th edition this year, the ChildAid 2022 concert will be staged on Dec 13. This year's theme is All Together Now, and the show will return in full force as a physical event after being presented in virtual and hybrid formats in the past two years.

The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.