Singapore, 16 June 2019 – At the 2019 Assisi Fun Day, Assisi Hospice’s biggest fundraising event of the year, two members of the CDL senior management team, Mr Chia Ngiang Hong, Group General Manager and Mr Frank Khoo, Group Chief Investment Officer, took part in The CDL Challenge to help organiser Assisi Hospice reach its target of S$1 million.
Mr Chia and Mr Khoo each led a team of CDL and Assisi participants, taking turns to make fruit juice in special blenders powered by bicycles. The crowd joined the Guest-of-Honour Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry & Ministry of Education, Mr Chee Hong Tat, and Assisi Hospice’s Patron Ms Ho Ching, to cheer and support the teams.
Mr Chia’s team emerged as the winner even before the timer ran out, blending all the fruits allocated to his team. The CDL Challenge segment alone raised S$227,175 from CDL’s staff, business partners and visitors at the carnival.
Rising to the charity challenge
The 2019 Assisi Fun Day, which took place on 16 June 2019, attracted about 10,000 visitors. Themed Kampong Times, the mega carnival is co-organised with CDL and CBM Pte Ltd. CBM contributed manpower and expertise for areas such as logistics, cleaning and security. Contributing to the event’s lucky draw prizes were CDL Group’s hotels JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach, M Social Singapore, The St. Regis Singapore, Studio M Hotel Singapore and W Singapore — Sentosa Cove.
The CDL Group took up one of the largest pavilions to set up nine stalls at Assisi Fun Day 2019. The pavilion stalls, which sold a variety of food and drinks, included four run by CDL staff volunteers, four by Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc (M&C) hotels in Singapore (Copthorne King’s Hotel Singapore, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Singapore, M Hotel Singapore and Orchard Hotel Singapore), and one more by sister company Hong Leong Finance.
Mr Sherman Kwek, Group CEO of CDL, said, “In addition to the strong turnout and support of our staff, I am heartened by the generous contributions that poured in from business associates, friends and the community. The funds raised today will go a long way towards helping the patients and their families at Assisi Hospice and we hope to inspire more contributions to support the impactful work of the Hospice.”
The CDL Challenge was initiated in 2017 to help support the operating expenses that Assisi Hospice incurs to care for over 2,000 patients yearly. That year, CDL raised over S$76,000 on top of the contributions raised from stall sales at the Assisi Fun Day. In 2018, CDL raised close to S$184,000 from this special charity segment alone.
