How Roche Singapore involved 300 employees to raise funds for charity

In a fund-raising initiative for children in need, Roche in Singapore has involved 300 employees for six company sites nationwide to raise S$158,284.50 for children's charities locally and in developing countries around the world, as part of the annual Roche Children’s Walk.

This is a global employee-driven charity event where the pharmaceuticals and diagnostics company matches the money raised by employees, dollar for dollar. This year, activities to raise funds included open-mic nights at employee social events, cooking and yoga classes, build-a-bear workshops, and donation pledges.

Half of the gross proceeds raised will be split equally between Club Rainbow (Singapore) and Children’s Cancer Foundation to provide support for children and families affected by chronic illnesses and childhood cancer.

The other half will go towards children’s initiatives in developing countries such as the Philippines, Nepal, Malawi, Ethiopia, and Kenya to support education and health programmes.

In an exclusive, Human Resources spoke to Goh Chor Lim, head of HR Asia Pacific, Roche Diagnostics, to find out more about soliciting employee participation for such events:

Q. How did Roche manage to overcome any issues with employees’ schedules and workloads to successfully organise fundraising activities?

We have been a part of Roche’s Children Walk for the past eight years alongside our colleagues from other Roche sites in Singapore and around the world. Employees look forward to this opportunity to raise funds in a meaningful and engaging manner.

As an employee-driven campaign, they get the flexibility to be creative and explore ideas that allows them to work around their schedules and workloads. While it is a ground-up initiative, senior leaders were involved as well to help motivate employees and encourage them to participate. The annual Children’s Walk is a round up to the whole month of fundraising efforts.

Q. How did employees get involved in the various activities, e.g. did they come up with the ideas themselves?

Employees from various departments gather to form their own fundraising team. They then collaborate and brainstorm to organise activities to raise funds for our charities. This year, activities included conducting exercise classes, putting on performances at our social events, and collecting pledge donations.

We continually strive to surpass contributions from previous years, and I am glad that we have successfully done so this year. We are proud of the impact we have made on individual lives, but we know there is much more to do. This is what connects Roche employees - the motivation to improve so that we can impact more lives in a positive way.

Additionally, Lance Little, managing director, Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific, said: "Giving back is part of our commitment as Roche employees, and it brings us closer to our community here in Singapore. With everyone doing their part and raising funds as a collective effort, we can positively impact the lives of children locally, regionally, and around the world."

More than 220,000 Roche employees have raised over CHF 17 million since the inception of Roche Children’s Walk in 2003.

Photo / Provided