Fondly known in Singapore as the People’s Bank, POSB, a subsidiary of DBS Bank, is committed to community outreach. One of the causes POSB has championed over the years is bettering the lives of our children and youth. We seek to empower the young by supporting community development and promoting financial literacy. We collaborate with our corporate strategic partners to create sustainable outreach and engagement initiatives, programmes, and events, with the aim of bringing the entire community together for the common goal of bettering the lives of underprivileged children, children with disabilities, and at-risk youth.
Together with one of our key strategic partners, the People’s Association, a statutory board to promote racial harmony and social cohesion in Singapore, we organize one of the largest annual charity runs for children called the POSB PAssion Run for Kids. Funds raised through the run go towards the POSB PAssion Kids Fund, which provides support for programmes designed to provide all children with an equal opportunity to participate actively and pick up skills that will help them become active contributors to the community now and in the future.
This annual fundraising event complements the other outreach and engagement activities we carry out throughout the year, such as POSB Financial Literacy Workshops, and collaborations with Singapore's National Library Board (NLB) and the Singapore Discovery Centre.
- POSB PAssion Run for Kids
- Co-organised with our key strategic partner the People’s Association (PA), a statutory board to promote racial harmony and social cohesion in Singapore, the POSB PAssion Run for Kids is one of the largest annual charity runs for kids, bringing corporate partners and members of the public, especially families with children, out and about to stay active and rally togther for a good cause.
- The run raises funds for the POSB PAssion Kids Fund. A recent programme funded by the POSB PAssion Kids Fund is the distribution of care packs to 400 children from low income families, stocked with essential items to prepare them for a safe return to school post-lockdown.
- Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, POSB and the PA have turned the 2020 run into a virtual one, which allows runners to complete the 12km race through weekly 3km challenges, at their own pace and time, over the course of a month.
- POSB Financial Literacy Workshops for Children
- To equip children with basic financial literacy skills, we partner with Singapore's National Library Board and the People’s Association to offer complimentary financial literary and education workshops for children. Workshops can take place in person or virtually, depending on the needs and requirements of the participants.
- We also open up our bank branches to pre-schools, who are keen to introduce the concepts of banking and financial literacy to their students via field trips and hands-on learning. Our branch managers and staff will host and explain basic banking services and the importance of savings, in a way that children can easily understand and relate to.
- Other POSB Community Outreach Activities
National Library Board
- Kids Lit Quiz: To promote general literacy in the young, POSB works with Singapore's National Library Board (NLB) to organise the Singapore edition of the Kids Lit Quiz™, an international literature competition for young people aged 10 to 13. Held annually, students pit their wits against one another to answer questions on children’s books ranging from classics to comics. Quizzes are held in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and the USA. National champions from each country eventually compete in a World Final.
- POSB and NLB reach out to schools islandwide and engage students and teachers via a slew of interactive activities to prep them for the Quiz. In addition, an array of public outreach programes are also planned to engage children and their parents and encourage participation in the Quiz.
Singapore Discovery Centre
- The Singapore Discovery Centre (SDC) is a non-profit organisation, with the mission to share the Singapore Story and inspire a desire in the young to contribute to Singapore’s future. It invites children to gain insights into Singapore’s challenges, dreams and aspirations through interactive and engaging activities.
- POSB's collaboration with SDC includes organising a quarterly showcase for students from Primary, Secondary and Post-Secondary levels, focused on different topics of national importance, such as economic defence and building a digitally ready Smart Nation.
- POSB PAssion Run for Kids
- Each year, the run brings more than 8,000 participants and their families together to stay active and rally together for a good cause.
- The run raises an average of SGD 1 million annually for the POSB Kids Fund which, since its introduction in 2012, has benefitted more than 600,000 kids through 167 community development programmes which include sports, community development, sustainability and the building of life skills
- POSB Financial Literacy Workshops for Children
- Our efforts in 2020 have been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, but we have been planning and piloting more virtual sessions for children and their parents. To date, we have organised 1 face-to-face workshop with about 35 kids and parent attendees, with another 5 virtual sessions in pipeline.
- Other POSB Community Outreach Activities
Singapore Discovery Centre
- POSB provided content for SDC's first quarterly showcase in 2020, which saw participation from approximately 7,000 students. We are preparing for another upcoming showcase in Q4 2020.
