S P Setia Bhd president & chief executive officer (CEO) Dato' Khor Chap Jen (7th from left) presented a mock cheque of RM7.13mil to S P Setia Foundation chairman Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr Wan Mohd Zahid Bin Mohd Noordin (6th from left), accompanied by S P Setia Foundation Board of Trustee, S P Setia Bhd's Board of Directors and the top five donors of the Foundation this year.

The charity arm of S P Setia Bhd, Setia Foundation raised RM7.13mil to fund its initiatives via the Setia Foundation Charity Dinner held last Saturday.

With the aim of helping underprivileged individuals and organisations, the proceeds will be used to fund Setia Foundation’s core programme, Setia Caring School Programme (SCSP). It will also be channelled to other charitable activities such as natural disaster relief, general welfare, and medical assistance. Since the fund’s inception, the Foundation has raised more than RM50mil.

“I have always believed that education is the most powerful tool to develop a progressive nation. Since Setia Foundation’s establishment in 2000, we have worked hard, not to create straight-A students, but to nurture a more emphatic, morally-grounded and caring society,” said Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Wan Mohd Zahid Bin Mohd Noordin, chairman of S P Setia Foundation.

He added, “I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to our sponsors and benefactors who believe in us and what we do at Setia Foundation. Your kindness and generosity would undoubtedly go a long way in helping underprivileged students receive the education that they deserve.”

Setia Foundation, through SCSP, adopts six under-performing schools from Johor and Penang. It organises activities as a supplement to what students learn in a classroom environment, and to cultivate future leaders who are grounded in values. To date, more than 5,000 students and 150 teachers have benefitted from the programme’s activities.

Amongst the various activities held last year was the SCSP Hydrotherapy, where water therapy sessions helped students with disabilities to improve body movement, coordination and muscle awareness.

The Wira Chef activity paired students from low-performing classes with a fellow student or an adult in cooking classes to hone students’ life skills through teamwork exercises. Through this activity, students were taught compassion and empathy as the food prepared would later be donated to those in need.

In addition, Setia Foundation organised the Green Ranger programme where the students were taken to explore the wonders of nature. They were taught sustainable farming methods and learn about insects and reptiles at a field trip to Entopia in Penang.

“In November 2017, realising that there is more that could be done to create a caring society, Setia Foundation, supported by S P Setia, launched the award-winning #StandTogether campaign through a collaboration with Star Media Group to address the issue of violence in schools, to encourage kind acts amongst students, and to build an environment where kindness is prevalent,” Zahid added.

One of the notable results of the campaign was the recognition of every first week of April as National Kindness Week which saw thousands of students organising “Kindness Projects” in schools across the country.

This year’s campaign even garnered attention from international K-pop sensation and UNICEF special representative, Choi Siwon, who pledged his support in championing a kinder society.

(21 August 2019)