Covid-19: DBS donates S$10.5m to provide meals, necessities for those affected in S’pore, region

SINGAPORE — DBS Bank will donate S$10.5 million to help communities hard hit by Covid-19, both in Singapore and across the region, the bank announced in a statement on Thursday (April 16).

The S$10.5 million DBS Stronger Together Fund will provide around 4.5 million meals and care packs containing rice, oil and other food staples to affected individuals in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia and Taiwan.

In Singapore, DBS will partner two local non-profit organisations, The Food Bank Singapore and ItsRainingRaincoats — an initiative that gives help to migrant workers in Singapore — in a S$2.5 million plan to provide food for the elderly, low-income and foreign workers.

For the elderly and low-income groups, DBS will work together with The Food Bank Singapore to provide 200,000 meals through its Feed the City — DBS Edition programme.

These meals will be obtained from 15 food and beverage (F&B) outlets including Koufu and Wee Nam Kee, which are also among the bank’s small and medium enterprise clients.

By procuring meals from these F&B outlets, DBS said it will also be supporting Singapore's hard-hit F&B sector.

For migrant workers, DBS will help to provide another 100,000 meals for them through ItsRainingRaincoats' Project Belanja programme.

DBS also called for donations from its employees and the public, saying that it will match all public funds raised for the two food programmes, up to a total of S$500,000.

Those who would like to make a donation towards meals for the elderly and lower-income can do so at https://www.giving.sg/campaigns/dbsfeedthecity, while donations towards meals for migrant workers can be made at https://www.giving.sg/campaigns/dbsprojectbelanja.

Through these efforts, the bank said it hopes to provide a total of 700,000 meals for those in need here.

Abroad, DBS said it would work together with organisations in Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia and Taiwan to provide more than 3 million meals and care packs for the needy, including the elderly and low-income workers.

Other than meals, DBS will fund the procurement of diagnostic test kits, ventilators and protective gear in India and Indonesia, where there has been a shortage in medical supplies.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, the bank will partner with a local organisation to provide on-call services to look after the physical and emotional well-being of the elderly. It will also provide personal hygiene kits and reemployment training to low-income individuals in China.

In its statement, DBS chief executive officer Piyush Gupta said Covid-19 has caused "tremendous hardship" and impacted the lives and livelihoods of many across the region.

"As a key member of the community, we too want to stand in solidarity with our employees, clients and fellow Singaporeans to help those impacted, until the day we get through this crisis together," he added.