In Conjunction with SAP’s Sponsorship of the Opera Gallery Masterpieces Exhibit, SAP’s Gift will Enable Needy Children to Experience the Wonders of the World’s Greatest Art Masterpieces
SINGAPORE — As part of its inaugural “Month of Service” corporate social responsibility initiative in the region, SAP Asia Pacific Japan is donating $25,000 to Art Outreach Singapore, Singapore’s only art appreciation charity. The money, raised at a fundraising cocktail as part of SAP’s presenting sponsorship of Opera Gallery’s “Masterpieces: The Ultimate Collection” exhibit, will support the charity’s art appreciation outreach programmes.
“We have decided to play an active, long-term role in the cultural and social life around us by making positive contributions to the communities in which we live and work,” said Eric MacDonald, President SAP Southeast Asia. “We are therefore happy to support Singapore’s only children’s art education charity, Art Outreach, as part of our month-long regional corporate social responsibility drive. As we finish out the month, matching employee donations dollar-for-dollar, we’ll be looking to further support our regional CSR efforts focused on the underprivileged and the environment.”
With SAP’s generous donation, Art Outreach will be able to bring art appreciation lessons and activities to needy children from a variety of welfare homes as part of a new “Art Outreach – Art Encounters” programme. This initiative will not only encompass art lessons, but mini art-tours and art-themed events for these underpriviledged children as well. Art Outreach will also run similar programmes at the Children’s Cancer Center at the National University Hospital.
In addition, SAP’s donation will enable Art Outreach to conduct programmes and run activities outside of school classrooms during the upcoming year-end school vacation in November and December. Art Outreach will collaborate with the National Library Board (NLB) to bring art appreciation lessons and activities to various neighbourhood libraries. The lessons are designed to enhance the NLB’s efforts to promote reading as a means to explore these new “learning frontiers,” of which art is an important facet.
Aside from providing financial support to Art Outreach, SAP is committing its employees as Art Outreach volunteers to be trained as presenters of the Art Outreach art appreciation lessons and to provide the manpower needed to run the above mentioned events and activities.
“In most schools in Singapore, Art Outreach will be the only source of art appreciation education students receive. By providing much-needed art appreciation education within Singapore schools at no charge, we’re supporting the well-rounded cultural development of Singapore’s children,” said Mae Anderson, Chairwoman, Art Outreach. “Art is often produced as a reflection of the artist’s sense of self, as an observation of societal norms, and as a record of history. By exposing students to images from myriad cultures and historical periods, Art Outreach seeks to breed interest and curiosity, and thereby stimulate learning.”
Since its launch in January of 2003, Art Outreach has received overwhelming demand from Singapore schools and community development organizations, and is currently serving over 6,000 students on a monthly basis. By 2008, it plans to reach all schools in Singapore serving more than 12,000 students monthly. To date, no programme exists in Singapore that covers this essential material, nor reaches the same amount of students as Art Outreach.
About Art Outreach
Art Outreach (www.artoutreachprogram.org) was founded in 2003 as an art appreciation initiative and community development project in response to the increasing need for art awareness in Singapore,. The non-profit organisation provides systematic, in-curriculum, art education for the community with the mission to create an art literate society from a grassroots level and to stimulate community-wide participation in the arts. This programme directly underscores the Singapore Government’s objectives in developing a “global city of the arts” providing the much needed ingredient of art appreciation education in the classroom. To date, there is no programme in Singapore that covers this essential material, or reaches the amount of students the Art Outreach Programme does.
For more information, (Press only):
Ben Wightman, SAP, +65 6768-6493, ben.wightman@sap.com, GMT +8
Yoshie M., Art Outreach, +65 9662-3687, yoshie@artoutreachprogram.org, GMT +8
