Standard Chartered Staff Clean Up Chorkor
…donate Stationery items and engage youth on environmental protection
Accra July, 2008: Over 50 staff from the Customer Support Department of the Shared Service Centre, Standard Chartered Bank have engaged in a clean up exercise at Chorkor, a suburb of Accra as part of their employee volunteering efforts.
The volunteers led the youth in the community to desilt gutters and pick up plastic waste for recycling as part of the Bank’s Sustainability Agenda which includes fighting malaria and protecting the environment.
The team engaged in one-on-one counseling sessions with the youth and also presented the students and pupils in the community with stationery items including exercise books, story books, pens and pencils. They also donated bales of used clothing.
The exercise was part of a follow up visit to Brothers And Sisters In Christ Serving (B.A.S.I.C.S.), an NGO which serves as a safe haven for about 240 under-privileged school children, and which is committed to child education, health screening exercise and adult literacy classes for parents of the children.
Commenting, Kojo Addae-Mensah, Head of Customer Support of the Shared Services Centre, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana, said: “As one of the oldest businesses in Ghana, we have remained focused on our commitment as the Right Partner to bring benefit to all our communities by changing lives and impacting our environment positively. We have in place an employee volunteering programme which allows all employees 2 days a year in addition to their annual leave to volunteer to benefit the community.”
Receiving the items on behalf of the community, Ms Wilkins, the founder of B.A.S.I.C.S, said:“Standard Chartered continues to support us year in, year out, putting smiles on the faces of the Chorkor people, especially those of school-going age, who are the future of this nation. This year again they have done a great job in the community, supporting the recycling initiative to protect the environment.”
This is the third year in a row that the Customer Support team has engaged in an EV activity within the Chorkor community. In 2006, the teams embarked on a similar clean-up exercise and donated a water storage tank to the NGO. The following year, the team presented a set of vocational materials including sewing machines and accessories to the NGO to enable it establish a Vocational Centre within the community.
Standard Chartered has been recognised for its Corporate Social Responsibility efforts in Ghana and has at one time been adjudged the “Most Socially Responsible Bank.” Staff of the Bank have through various employee-driven initiatives under the Bank’s Employee Volunteering Policy contributed to a variety of charitable causes and activities including volunteering, HIV/AIDS awareness creation and care-giving.
For more information, please contact:
Nii Okai NunooArea Head of Corporate Affairs, West Africa
Tel: +233(0)21 669688 Fax: +233 (0) 21 661676
Nii-Okai.Nunoo@standardchartered.com