“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” ~ Winston Churchill
This merry season, to rekindle the local ‘kampong’ spirit of togetherness and bonding within the local community, Singapore’s homegrown lifestyle food and beverage (F&B) company, BreadTalk Group, partnered with Lions Befrienders, to organise a festive get-together with the elderly members at its Bendemeer Senior Activity Centre. This initiative is part of BreadTalk Group’s CSR effort in driving the spirit of employee volunteerism in giving back to the local community.
Over 20 volunteers from BreadTalk Group came together to plan the event at Lions Befrienders
Lions Befrienders is a Social Service Agency founded by the Lions Clubs of Singapore and a Lions District Project in 1995. It aims to provide friendship and care for seniors to age in place with community participation, enabling them to enjoy meaningful and enriching lives.
Celebrating Christmas with Elderly from Lions Befrienders
About 40 elderly from the centre were treated to the warmth of a Christmas tea-time feast – with an array of delicious breads from BreadTalk’s new Christmas collection and freshly brewed traditional Nanyang Kopi and Teh from Toast Box. Over 20 volunteers from BreadTalk Group’s headquarters and business divisions – BreadTalk, Toast Box, Food Republic, Din Tai Fung and Sō Ramen came together to plan this event. In addition, 140 underprivileged residents around the estate and elderly from Lions Befrienders also received gift packs contributed by the Group.
BreadTalk Group’s volunteers also gave away gift hampers packed in a thermal storage bag. Each hamper consists of local breakfast favourites such as BreadTalk’s Hainanese and Nyonya Kaya spread, Toast Box’s Kopi sachets as well as old-school snacks. These hampers were also hand-delivered door-to-door to 100 underprivileged residents living in the Bendemeer estate.
A volunteer serving a tray of BreadTalk’s new Christmas collection to the elderly at Lions Befrienders
The elderly having fun at designing their own Christmas tree ornament
The elderly at Lions Befrienders receiving gift hampers from BreadTalk Group
Volunteers from BreadTalk Group distributing gift packs to underprivileged residents around the estate
The elderly displays her ornament on the Christmas tree
Don Ching, Operations Manager from Food Republic said, “This is a great corporate initiative and a valuable opportunity for employees like myself, to volunteer and give back to the community. I had a fruitful afternoon interacting with the elderly and making new friends. It was a deeply rewarding experience to see that our small efforts can bring a smile to their faces.”
BreadTalk Group’s Employee CSR Off Day – encouraging volunteerism from within
BreadTalk Group has been promoting the culture of giving since it was founded. Besides doing good in the community as a company, employees are also encouraged to contribute back to the society as an individual.
In 2017, the Group initiated an “Employee CSR Off Day” to further encourage and build a culture of employee volunteerism beyond the organization. The initiative was developed after receiving feedback from employees that some would have been supporting other communities or causes that they value. By making it an official off day, it will encourage them to take time to do what otherwise would have been taken from their annual leave entitlements. Since the initiative started, the take-up rate has been encouraging, with this year having a 75% increase in the number of employees taking the leave to do good as compared to last year.
Apart from instilling internal employee volunteerism, the Group will also create the platform for their employees to give their time for meaningful work. Past events have seen them creating cupcake decorating workshop for parent-child bonding, inviting communities to their office headquarters – BreadTalk IHQ at Tai Seng, to bond over a meal where the senior management also took time off to engage the local communities.
Ms Joanne Wong, Brand Director for Group Corporate Affairs and Communications from BreadTalk Group said, “Giving back has always been our company’s core value. Busy schedules sometimes turn to excuses and hence, doing something meaningful like this not only reminds us that we are part of the community but also to always take time to give. It also encourages bonding amongst our colleagues as we plan together for an event like this. This year, we are privileged to partner Lions Befrienders to bring festive cheer to the elderly at the centre. We look forward to provide more opportunities for our employees to do good in the society.”
Chairman, Mr Anthony Tay, PPA, PBM from Lions Befrienders shared, “We are heartened to have the support of a local brand like BreadTalk Group to come together and liven up the atmosphere for our elderly. This season of giving, we hope to encourage more to come forward and contribute in any ways that they can, whether it is spending time or lending a helping hand to those in need.”
It just starts from one to be able to bless many others. So let’s all do our part in making sure that we are able to bless and help someone this Christmas season.
ABOUT BREADTALK
BreadTalk is a distinctive, award-winning Singapore brand that has gained international appeal. It is renowned for the way it has revolutionised the culture of bread consumption with its visually appealing and creative products. BreadTalk has earned both industry and consumer recognition for its brand efforts. Its international brand accolades include its success at the prestigious World Retail Awards in 2014 in Paris; and clinching the London-based World Branding Awards for ”Brand of the Year” in the Bakery Category in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Other wins include consecutive accolades in the ”Five Star Diamond Brand Award” by the World Brand Laboratory in Shanghai; and it was voted by consumers as their ”Top Brand” for Franchise and Bakery categories by the Influential Brands Awards in Singapore from 2013 to 2015.
ABOUT BREADTALK GROUP LIMITED
Founded as a bakery brand in Singapore in 2000 and listed on the SGX in 2003, BreadTalk has rapidly expanded to become an award-winning F&B Group that has established its mark on the world stage with its bakery, restaurant, food atrium and 4orth food concepts footprints.
With over 1,000 retail stores spread across 17 markets, its brand portfolio comprises direct owned brands such as BreadTalk, Toast Box, Food Republic, Food Junction, Bread Society, Sō Ramen, Thye Moh Chan, The Icing Room and partner brands such as Din Tai Fung, Nayuki (奈雪), TaiGai (台盖), Song Fa Bak Kut Teh and Wu Pao Chun Bakery. The Group has a network of owned bakery outlets in Singapore, PRC, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand as well as franchised bakery outlets across Asia and the Middle East. It also owns and operates the world-renowned Din Tai Fung restaurants in Singapore, Thailand and London as well as the award-winning Food Republic food atria in Singapore, Thailand, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia.