Certis Partners BT BAF in Give-Back Programme

MEDIA RELEASE

Certis Partners BT BAF to Help Children and Youth Cultivate Spirit of Giving Back, Face Disruption with Confidence

  • Community Give-Back programme in its third year
  • 150 BT BAF beneficiaries with 125 children and youth impacted positively from programme
  • For third year, loyal supporter Certis donates $20,000 to sustain equipping the next generation with future-ready skills
  • BT BAF youth lead and facilitate tech workshops for young children
  • Guest-of-Honour Low Yen Ling, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry for Trade and Industry

6 December 2021 – Asia’s leading advanced integrated security services provider Certis partners The Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BT BAF) for the third year running in this series of annual give-back activities. Comprising art and digital technology workshops, the Community Give-Back programme 2021 launches this afternoon with BT BAF youth leading a coding session together with Certis employees for children under the care of Yayasan MENDAKI.

The Community Give-Back programme aims to inculcate the spirit of giving back, with a focus on equipping disadvantaged children and youth with resilience and the ability to adapt in unpredictable environments, traits necessary to thrive in times of rapid change.
Community Give-Back was launched in 2019 and has since seen 100 Certis employees engage 150 BT BAF children and youth over the last three years. To date, they have led 125 children from five volunteer welfare organisations (VWOs) in various craft activities, helping them learn to use mobile apps to create simple stop-motion videos of their creations, to playing an experiential game via Zoom.

Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry for Trade and Industry, will deliver a pre-recorded address as the Guest-of-Honour at the virtual launch.

Mr Tan Toi Chia, Chief Corporate and Human Resources Officer, Certis, said: “We are pleased to present the third edition of the Community Give-Back programme with The Business Times Budding Artists Fund. The current climate still remains challenging for the emotional and well-being of our children and youth. We remain committed to engage and support our children and youth with meaningful activities that spur learning and growth. My colleagues are very motivated in doing their part to help those in need and we will continue to inspire each other to give back to our communities.”

The youth facilitators are currently enrolled in arts programmes supported by BT BAF, an arts education fund managed by charity arts organisation TRCL that provides free arts education to empower disadvantaged children and youth with artistic skills, purpose and passion for the arts.

To kick-off the launch of the Community Give Back programme, 40 staff and management volunteers from Certis and BT BAF beneficiaries will befriend and engage with 15 beneficiaries from MENDAKI to code a maze game using the online platform, CoSpaces.

Mdm Zuraidah Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer of Yayasan MENDAKI said: “Through this programme, our children are able to learn new skills such as coding and befriend Certis volunteers. This experience would teach and inspire our beneficiaries to give back to the community in the future. We hope more organisations are encouraged to partner MENDAKI on volunteering and lifelong learning programmes in our efforts in building a community of success.”

Certis employees will come alongside the children and the youth to assist in the various activities, befriending and spending time with them. The first workshop will take place on Monday 6 December, followed by two more workshops set to take place during the March and June school holidays next year. These three workshops under the Community Give-Back programme will see around 100 children from VWOs engaged in creative sessions led by BT BAF student trainers.

Ms Nor Azizah, Acting Head, Arts and Community Development, TRCL, said: “We believe that it is important for our children and youth to do their part to contribute to the community and know that they can make a difference in someone else’s life. We want them to cultivate values such as empathy and gratitude at a young age so that they may learn to pay it forward.”

The next generation has been enriched by the opportunity to lead those younger than themselves. Adam Risam Kou, 14, a tech+art student who taught caricature drawing at last year’s workshops, says: “I love teaching the children how to make their art come alive. I’m looking forward to meeting new faces this year and sharing my love for art with them.”

Certis is donating $20,000 towards BT BAF as a presenter of the programme.

Members of the media are invited to the virtual launch of the Community Give-Back programme presented by Certis on 6 December 2021, Monday at 4 pm.

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Contact

Ms Kim Chan
kim_chan@trcl.sg
9806 8066

Ms Shalinee Bernadette
shalinee_bernadette@certisgroup.com
9155 8157

 

About Certis
Certis is a leading outsourced services partner that designs, builds and operates multi-disciplinary smart security and integrated services. Our multi-service offerings leverage our strong heritage in security, and are augmented by applied AI solutions. These solutions are part of our comprehensive technology development and systems integration capabilities that are fully cyber-secure by design. We are committed to building a safer, smarter, better, and more sustainable business. Certis is headquartered in Singapore, with an international presence that extends to Australia, Hong Kong, Macau, China and Qatar. We are a trusted partner committed to our clients’ successes, delivered through our 27,000-strong global team which includes 16,000 in Singapore. certisgroup

 

About Yayasan MENDAKI
Formed on 10 October 1982, Yayasan MENDAKI (Council for the Development of Singapore Malay/Muslim Community) is a pioneer Self-Help Group in Singapore. Its programmes assist students and individuals with education and training, helping to uplift the Malay/Muslim community’s educational performance and develop its resilience and adaptability. MENDAKI also charts its strategic directions based on three pillars — School Ready, Perform in School and Future Ready.
MENDAKI continues to work extensively with partners that share and support its vision and mission. They consist of government agencies, schools, mosques, Malay/Muslim organisations, employers, community centres and MAECs, family and student service centres and many more. For more information on MENDAKI, visit the website – www.mendaki.org.sg

 

About TRCL
TRCL is a not-for-profit organisation and registered charity with IPC (Institutions of Public Character) status. TRCL seeks to harness the potential of the arts to benefit under-served children and youths in the community. TRCL manages The Business Times Budding Artists Fund, arts training centres (The Little Arts Academy and 10 Square Youth) in three locations across Singapore and two subsidiaries (Global Cultural Alliance Ltd and Millet Holdings Pte Ltd). For more information, visit trcl.sg

 

About The Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BT BAF)
Initiated in 2004 and adopted by The Business Times in 2005, The Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BT BAF) originated from a conviction that no child with a strong interest and potential in the arts should be denied the opportunity to develop his or her talents due to a lack of financial resources. Since 2005, BT BAF has reached out to more than 19,000 financially-disadvantaged children and youths, between the ages of six and 19 years old, through a variety of programmes including a structured arts training programme, arts camps, workshops and signature events. BT BAF supports two arts training centres, The Little Arts Academy and 10 Square Youth, and is managed by TRCL. www.baf.sg