M1 remains committed to help create value for the community in a sustainable manner, through our corporate social responsibility initiatives. In 2015, we continued to actively support the arts, sports and youth causes with a mix of ongoing and new projects.
Arts and Us
M1 has been supporting the arts since 1997, as we believe a thriving arts scene is important in enriching the quality of life, as well as strengthening social bonds and our identity, in a multicultural country like Singapore. For our longstanding contributions, which have been instrumental in helping to shape Singapore’s arts scene, we were presented with a special SG50 Arts Patron Award in 2015 by the National Arts Council.
Together with the passionate team from The Necessary Stage, we presented the 11th edition of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, with the theme “Art and Loss”, in January 2015. The highly anticipated annual festival, which featured 18 works, 28 performances and four exhibitions by local and international artistes, drew a record audience of close to 15,000.
The M1 Chinese Theatre Festival, which featured an original children’s musical to experimental works from Taiwan and Hong Kong, ran for four weeks over July and August 2015. In partnership with Theatre Practice, the festival brings small to mid-sized quality Chinese theatre performances to local audiences, accessible to both adults and children.
We increased our support to the theatrical scene during the year with the title sponsorship of the M1-The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards 2015 in April, in honouring outstanding achievements in local theatre and recognising the contributions of theatre productions in Singapore.
In contemporary dance, M1 continued to support leading dance companies, T.H.E Dance Company and Frontier Danceland, in the development of this art form and young talents. Growing from strength to strength, the 6th edition of M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival was held from November to December 2015. In partnership with T.H.E Dance Company, the festival comprised three weeks of exhilarating dance performances, choreographic workshops and technique classes, as well as the M1 Open Stage – a distinctive platform for young, talented and aspiring dancers to showcase their works. With Frontier Danceland, our partnership continued with M1 Dancing on the Frontier Appreciation Series which introduces contemporary dance to students from secondary schools and tertiary institutions, as well as the M1-Frontier Danceland PULSE scholarship programme for aspiring and talented dancers.
Sports with a Cause
In creating opportunities for young sporting talents to excel, we continued our support for Netball Singapore’s initiatives, such as the M1 Schools Challenge League and the M1 Talent Identification Programme.
2015 was a memorable year for netball. Following the Singapore national team’s first-ever South-East Asian (SEA) Games Gold medal win at the 28th SEA Games, we hosted an exclusive meet-and-greet session with the national team players for 100 fans at our Paragon M1 Shop in July 2015.
To promote sporting habits for life, we also partnered Netball Singapore to host the M1 Corporate Netball Challenge (M1CNC) – Singapore’s biggest mixed corporate annual netball competition – for the third consecutive year at the Kallang Netball Centre in November 2015. The one-day event saw the participation of 47 teams across a wide spectrum of companies. New Zealand netball legends Ms Irene van Dyk, the most capped international player of all time, and Ms Casey Kopua, the current Captain of the New Zealand national team, Silver Ferns, were specially invited to make an appearance at the M1CNC to meet participants and fans, as well as at various netball clinics in secondary schools to share tips and tricks with young, aspiring netball players.
Another event highlight was the exhibition match between Singapore’s Members of Parliament (MPs) comprising Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Community, Culture and Youth & Ministry of Finance & Deputy Government Whip; Dr Janil Puthucheary, Minister of State, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Communication and Information; Ms Low Yen Ling, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Trade and Industry; and Ms Jessica Tan, Member of Parliament, and M1 Senior Management. In appreciation of the MPs’ participation, M1 pledged a S$50,000 donation to the underprivileged children and youths-at-risk causes of our adopted charities.
Helping Hand to Underprivileged Children and Youths-at-Risk
The primary focus of M1’s fundraising efforts in 2015 remained on the underprivileged children and youths-at-risk causes.
The annual M1 Charity Golf 2015 and M1 Sports Fiesta 2015 Charity Carnival were two key fundraising events successfully staged during the year and passionately supported by our staff and families, business partners and associates, as well as members of the community. More than S$350,000 was raised for the beneficiaries of our adopted charities, Beyond Social Services, Brahm Centre, Children-at-Risk Empowerment Association, and the M1 Students Support Fund, launched in February 2015. The M1 Students Support Fund, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, provides supplementary financial aid to underprivileged school-going children from low income families. It is currently extended to financially needy students from ten primary schools, for payment of school-related expenses.
During the year, our staff volunteers from the M1 SunCare Club continued to organise regular outings for the beneficiaries of our adopted charities, including visits to Forest Adventure and the Kallang Ice World. In October 2015, M1 presented TOTEM by Cirque du Soleil and invited 500 children and youths-at-risk from M1’s adopted charities to an exclusive performance.
Ties with the Community
In July 2015, M1 made a meaningful cash contribution towards the set-up of the Yusof Ishak Professorship in Social Sciences at the National University of Singapore, in support of enhancing cutting edge research and intellectual leadership in the areas of ethnicity, multiculturism and religious diversity. This worthy cause honours the legacy of Singapore’s first President, Mr Yusof Ishak, through being at the forefront of educating future generations and thereby help nurture a cohesive and progressive society of the future, true to the core principles of Singapore’s founding fathers.
M1 was especially proud to be the principal partner sponsor of the National Day Parade 2015 – Majulah Singapura, in celebration of Singapore’s Golden Jubilee. Held at the historic Padang where Singapore’s first National Day Parade took place back in 1966, the highly memorable event drew 26,000 spectators with its heart-warming performances and spectacular displays by 3,500 performers across different generations, as well as a touching tribute to our late founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
In partnership with the Singapore Red Cross Society, we organised two on-site blood donation drives during the year at our main office building. A total of 200 M1 staff and visitors donated, and 145 units of blood were collected for the blood bank, which in turn will benefit over 430 patients.
