Organised by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), the President’s Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards (PVPA) is the pinnacle award and platform to recognise individuals, organisations and leaders who have achieved excellence in giving.
The Organisations of Good Award category recognises the giving contributions of large, small and medium enterprises, non-profit organisations and public institutions. Read on more below on this year’s winners’ and the efforts rendered in building a more caring, compassionate, and inclusive society.
Large Enterprise Winner – Cognizant
Cognizant’s corporate purpose begins with a goal to engineer modern businesses towards improving everyday life. It works through Outreach, Cognizant’s ESG Social Pillar, that focuses on inclusion in tech and community impact. These efforts include partnerships with schools and non-profit organisations, working with students on Education and Skilling and digital empowerment. Digital mentorships were also hosted with companies like Microsoft, Grab and Sumitomo.
Cognizant has also pledged to have 80% of its associates to be climate aware in 2023. Deep Green – Sustainability in Business (beyond green) was launched by Cognizant as an e-book and research touching on how sustainability investments are accelerating and how businesses can be leaders in sustainability.
Non-Profit Organisation Winner – TalentTrust
Functioning in a very niche space of charitable activities, TalentTrust helps in developing the capabilities of other non-profit organisations and amplifying their impact through strategic collaborations and skills-based volunteerism.
Since 2016, TalentTrust has embarked on 55 projects with non-profit organisations and recruited over 279 volunteers serving in areas like strategic planning, marketing and communications, sustainable revenue, and succession planning.
Small & Medium Enterprise Winner – The Social Kitchen
The Social Kitchen provides on-the-job-training and employment opportunities for many in the vulnerable community, such as single mothers, ex-offenders, and individuals with special needs in kitchens and cafes across Singapore. “1,000 for 100” was a campaign launched to encourage companies and individuals to purchase bento boxes for disadvantaged groups, delivering over 60,000 meals in 2021.
Public Institution Winner – Infocomm Media Development Authority
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) spearheads the Digital for Life (DfL) movement, galvansing the community in helping Singaporeans embrace digital technologies as a lifelong pursuit and for enrichment. As a result of IMDA’s efforts, multiple partners across the People, Public and Private sectors in the DfL movement have started projects in Digital Technology and Inclusion, Digital Literacy and Wellness space.
The movement is also accompanied by the Digital for Life fund, which committed $4.9 million dollars to support 22 groundup community projects that brought the benefits of digital technology to over 100,000 people.
Aside from DfL, CARE@IMDA is a staff committee dedicated towards supporting social and environmental causes. Fundraising and care pack distributions were organised for partners like The Food Bank Singapore, The Purple Parade and Lions Befrienders.
