REA Group (Stock Quote – ASX:REA) today announced a new Asian community partnership program through a three-year commitment with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

As part of the partnership, REA Group will provide financial and in-kind support to regional projects and local Red Cross/Red Crescent societies. REA Group which owns and operates the iProperty Group will support the Singapore Red Cross, in the form of matched employee donations and volunteering.

 

Henry Ruiz, REA Group Asia Chief Executive Officer, said the business is incredibly proud to be partnering with the ICRC to support the organisation’s efforts around ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for people in need.

 

“We’re incredibly pleased to be bringing our community partnership program to Asia for the first time and having the opportunity to work alongside the ICRC to improve the lives of others across the region.

“The ICRC is the largest humanitarian network in the world and we feel humbled to be able to play a role in supporting the incredibly important work they do,” Mr Ruiz said.

Arnaud De Baecque, ICRC’s Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific welcomed REA’s three year commitment, and commented: “Expressions of solidarity like this one from REA Group and its employees makes it possible for the ICRC to continue our work in some of the most difficult areas in support of those most affected by conflict and violence.”

 

Established in 1863, the ICRC is an impartial, neutral and independent organisation whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect and assist victims of armed conflict and other violence. In 2016, the ICRC provided food to 14.8 million people, delivered curative medical consultations to over 3.8 million people, and helped repair, build or upgrade water-supply, sanitation and other infrastructure benefitting 28.4 million people. The ICRC also helped 910 people, mostly minors, reunited with their families.

The 2016 South Africa Mobile Library Book Donation organised by the Sony Group of Companies in Singapore has concluded, with a donation of 9,600 English language children’s books to the South African children. This was made possible by generous contributions from schools, members of the public as well as Sony employees in Singapore. The books will be shipped to Durban, South Africa at the end of this month by K-Line which provides free transportation of all the books collected by Sony companies around the world.

“I am very happy to see the continued partnership and support from Sony and the Singapore community for the South Africa Mobile Library project. Over the years, we have reached out to thousands of children in South Africa, fostering a love for reading and a hunger for knowledge among these children and helping them to develop their literacy for a better future,” said Tad Hasunuma, head of South Africa Primary Education Support Initiative.

This is the ninth year which the project has been organized in Singapore and this year saw an increase in the participation of schools from seven (in 2015) to 12.  Sony in Singapore would like to acknowledge the following schools for their involvement:

• Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)
• Bishan Park Secondary School
• CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace
• Chua Chu Kang Primary School
• Commonwealth Secondary School
• Concord Primary School
• Global Indian International School, East Coast Campus
• Juying Primary School
• Nanyang Primary School
• River Valley Primary School
• Rosyth School
• Tanglin Trust School

Students and teachers from the participating schools were involved in collecting, sorting, tagging and packing the books. Several schools also encouraged their students to write book reviews and personal messages which are appreciated by the South African children who receive the books.

 

Besides the schools and students, members of the public were also invited to donate books at the Sony Store @ NEX. Books were once again contributed by the National Library Board as part of their continuous support towards this project.

Since the project’s inception in 2008, more than 190,000 books have been collected through joint initiatives by 17 Sony Group companies in 11 countries worldwide. The mobile library services now cover all nine provinces in South Africa, with 49 mobile libraries in operation, reaching out to over 900 schools. For more information on Sony’s support for this project, please visit: www.sony.net/library

Newstead Technologies, a major consumer electronics retailer in Singapore, announced that they have raised $10,000 from the Gift Your Tech campaign for TOUCH Community Services. Sky Chen, Head of Operations, Newstead Technologies presented the donation to Lawrence Tan, Manager, TOUCH Young Arrows at the Gift Your Tech event at Marina Square Shopping Mall yesterday.

Many stepped forward to contribute their unwanted devices for the trade-in, in support of the campaign’s aim to e-recycle and donate to charity. “I like that the campaign is for a good cause. Instead of letting the old gadgets sit at home, they can now be used to make a difference in someone’s life,” said Shirley Mok, Marketing Manager who was at the event to trade-in her old laptop.

During the campaign which runs till January 27, 2017, consumers can trade-in PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones for cash vouchers at 12 participating Newstead Technologies stores.  Newstead Technologies will donate 20% of the trade-in value and aim to raise a total of $20,000 for TOUCH Young Arrows to help disadvantaged children.

“We would like to thank our partners for their contributions in making this campaign a success so far. We are heartened that the campaign has received such positive support from the public and hope that they will continue to bring in their e-waste for recycling,” said Mindy Tan, Chief Executive Officer, Newstead Technologies.

 

Samsung launched the #BeFearless campaign in Singapore, an initiative targeted at helping millennials overcome their fears to unleash their fullest potential with the help of VR technology. Millennials will be able to participate in a series of trainings using Samsung’s #BeFearless VR app to help them overcome their fear. This year’s campaign focuses on two common fears – fear of heights and fear of public speaking. #BeFearless is a program that is part of Samsung’s Launching People campaign.

The VR training programme available on the #BeFearless VR app is designed with situations that one might encounter in daily life customised to each fear. For example, participants who have a fear of public speaking would be exposed to situations such as a job interview, a team meeting or a management presentation.

 

To participate, individuals simply need to submit a story sharing what they hope to achieve should they overcome their fear on the #BeFearless official site at www.samsung.com/sg/launchingpeople. Registration closes on 4 January 2017 and 10 finalists, five per fear, will be shortlisted to take part in a five-week training programme. The 10 finalists will each receive a set of Samsung products consisting of a Galaxy S7 edge, Samsung Gear VR and Samsung Gear S3.

Newstead Technologies (“Newstead”) is currently running the Gift Your Tech campaign from December 5, 2016 to January 27, 2017  to help its charity TOUCH Community Services (TOUCH). Through this campaign, anyone that wishes to trade-in their old electronics item could bring  them  down to any of the 12 Newstead’s stores to exchange for vouchers that could be used in the participating stores.  On top of that, Newstead will donate 20% of the trade-in value of old electronic items brought in to TOUCH.

Through Gift Your Tech, Newstead Technologies aims to encourage e-recycling and proper disposal of e-waste. PC Dreams, Newstead Technologies’ partner for the campaign will cleanse all collected devices of data securely. For end-of-life electronic items that are not eligible for trade-in, Newstead Technologies will recycle them through an e-waste recycling company.

Newstead Technologies will organise a Gift Your Tech event on December 28, 2016 at Marina Square. To highlight the importance of personal data security, Newstead will organise an educational live demonstration together with PC Dreams to show how erased data can be easily retrieved. Consumers will also be able to trade-in their devices or e-recycle during the event.

 

Last month, Commvault is taking part in Movember, an annual global charity event to raise awareness of some of the biggest health issues facing men, such as prostate, testicular cancer, and mental health issues. Movember, an annual movement which started in Australia, sees men taking action by growing beards, facial hair on a clean slate for 30 days.

Employees of Commvault are pitching in on this fundraising effort by growing moustaches and beards, sponsored by their colleagues and loved ones. With a growing number of over 40 members from countries such as Australia, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Korea, donations are pouring in and coming close to the SGD$10,000 mark, and the figure continues to climb steadily.

Not to be outdone, the women of Commvault are getting in on Movember action and showing support for the men in their own unique way – by getting moustaches painted on their nails! “It’s a fun and special way of showing solidarity with the men,” says Jezmynn Koh, Director of Communications, Asia Pacific. “We are proud to work as one team to tackle men’s health issues, to create change and empower them to feel confident to take action for their health”.

 

Check out some of the Commvault APAC Dragons team members that are doing their part to raise funds for this great cause!

 

About Commvault

Commvault (NASDAQ: CVLT) is a publicly traded data protection and information management software company headquartered in Tinton Falls, New Jersey. It was formed in 1988 as a development group in Bell Labs, and later became a business unit of AT&T Network Systems. It was incorporated in 1996.

Commvault software assists organizations with data backup and recovery, cloud and infrastructure management, and retention and compliance.