The Hour Glass Made S$5M Donation To Advance Special Needs, Community And Cultural Causes In Singapore

The Hour Glass Limited, one of Asia’s leading specialist luxury watch retailers, donated S$5 million to champion particular causes in Singapore as part of its ongoing effort to make a meaningful contribution to society at large.

The donation is the most significant to date for the Group.   The Group-level donation is anchored on 3 fronts. The beneficiaries are: the National Kidney Foundation, Community Chest and the National Heritage Board.

This donation from the homegrown group is driven by its continued desire to progress the lives of fellow Singaporeans. As these donations should qualify for the government’s dollar-for-dollar matching grants, overall receipts should give a boost of S$10 million to its community partners.

Mr Michael Tay, Group Managing Director of The Hour Glass, said: “Responsive philanthropy is a value our co-founders have woven into The Hour Glass’ institutional fabric since its establishment in 1979. That our company has benefited from the tremendous economic success of this nation inspires us to make an even more impactful contribution to Singaporean society.”

Mr Tay added, “Our donations will be directed towards assisting under-privileged Singaporeans with specialised healthcare needs, facilitate activity and engagement among the elderly and lastly, invest in the development and appreciation of our shared cultural heritage.”

The Hour Glass believes these investments will deliver positive and sustainable impact through three thrusts:

1.  S$2M to National Kidney Foundation: A Timely Help With Two New Dialysis Centres

The Group donated S$2 million to the National Kidney Foundation for the purpose of setting up two new dialysis centres. The upcoming centres will have a total of 40 stations and are expected to benefit some 250 patients weekly. The Group’s donation will be channeled towards the construction of the centres, which will be furnished with new medical equipment.

These centres, whose locations are still being finalised, will commence operations in 2017. This help comes at a time when the incidence of kidney failure, coupled with the rise of diabetes and hypertension in an ageing population, continues to rise in Singapore. According to data from the Renal Registry, 1,730 people lost the use of their kidneys last year, an increase of about 36%, from 1,274 in 2009. This means that there is one new dialysis patient every 5 hours or 4.7 new patients daily.

“With more dialysis centres, not only are we able to meet the demand for dialysis places, we can direct our patients to the most appropriate sites, enabling them to reduce travelling time and transport fees.  The care we provide goes beyond dialysis.  We strive to improve their quality of life instead of sustaining life with no quality. To this extent, The Hour Glass donation is a timely and welcome help to dialysis patients,” said Edmund Kwok, Chief Executive Officer of the National Kidney Foundation.

Image credited to National Kidney Foundation official site.

2.  S$2M to Community Chest: Outreach Pilot Scheme of “Our Kitchen” Community Programme 

The Group donated S$2 million to the Community Chest, the fund-raising and engagement arm of the National Council of Social Service. The donation will be directed towards the funding of a pilot “Our Kitchen” programme, which aims to build and strengthen relationships of seniors living alone, drawing on their motivation to be independent.

The donation will finance the design and building of cooking and dining facilities and provide a conducive environment and community space for seniors to interact. It will also help to fund customised activities to encourage seniors who are living alone or with elderly spouse to prepare, cook and have meals together at the facilities in small groups. The pilot phase of this “Our Kitchen” programme will reach out to 700 seniors or over 100 small groups of seniors.

“Matched by the government grant under the Care & Share Movement for SG50, this generous donation has given a boost to the National Council of Social Service to develop this new seniors’ kitchen programme over the next three to five years. This programme will help seniors to build friendships and strengthen relationships, reduce social isolation, as well as enable them to have healthier and more affordable meals with shared resources,” said Ms Ng Ling Ling, Managing Director of Community Chest.

3.  S$1M to National Heritage Board: Fostering of the Arts and Culture in Singapore

The Group has recently given the gift of an exceptional and rare hand-crafted Patek Philippe cloisonné enamel dome table clock – “Farquhar Collection” to the National Museum. The clock was created by eminent Swiss master watchmaker Patek Philippe in celebration of Singapore’s Golden Jubilee.

The unique clock was inspired by the National Museum of Singapore’s celebrated “William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings”, a treasure trove of 477 drawings of flora and fauna found in the Malay Peninsula and Singapore. These works were commissioned in the early 19th century by William Farquhar, Singapore’s first Resident and Commandant.

The Hour Glass successfully secured the clock at a recent closed auction for S$1 million. Full proceeds from the auction were donated to the National Museum of Singapore. The proceeds will go towards enhancing the National Museum’s exhibition offerings and programmes.

“We deeply appreciate this gift from The Hour Glass, as it is a serendipitous complement to the drawings which are displayed on a rotation basis at the Goh Seng Choo Gallery at the National Museum. We welcome visitors to view the original drawings that inspired this elegant clock,” said Wendy Ong, Deputy Director of Philanthropy at the National Heritage Board.