With the scale of the human costs and global economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to unfold, Swire group operating companies have been working hard to find ways in which they can help: by supporting those in their communities who are fighting the virus, as well as those most vulnerable to infection.
In Hong Kong, the Swire Group Charitable Trust has donated over HK$12 million to St. James’ Settlement and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, to support three projects designed to assist underprivileged members of society; these initiatives have included the distribution of food and disinfectants. The group has also donated RMB 10 million to The Red Cross Society of China to purchase medical supplies and equipment on the Mainland. These donations have helped bring immediate relief to those most in need.
Swire Coca-Cola and its bottlers from 12 provinces and cities have donated over a million bottles of drinking water and other beverages to local governments, frontline healthcare workers, and workers on hospital construction sites in cities across the Mainland. Around half of the total beverages donated were distributed in 45 days in Wuhan, the city most severely affected, by a special team of staff volunteers formed immediately after the outbreak; Swire Coca-Cola Hubei has meanwhile donated RMB 1.5 million to the Wuhan municipal government to assist its relief efforts and the beverage group has also donated surgical masks and an additional RMB 116,000 on behalf of staff at Swire Coca-Cola Beverages Zhejiang. Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong has supplied bottled water and other beverages to seven quarantine centres around Hong Kong and has also donated medical supplies and disinfectant to members of The Hong Kong Federation of the Blind.
With the closure of bars, cinemas and other ‘high-risk’ venues and government tightening of social distancing rules, the retail sector has been hard hit. Swire Properties was one of the first landlords to offer rental concessions and other tailored support to its tenants in Mainland China and Hong Kong, with the aim of helping businesses to keep their operations afloat during these challenging times. In addition, Swire Properties has been implementing a variety of outreach programmes to help sustain local communities. In Hong Kong, the company’s staff volunteer network, the Swire Properties Community Ambassadors, have launched “Dial a Lo Yau Gei” – a service to regularly telephone senior citizens who live alone in the Island East district. The Community Ambassadors in Mainland China have also distributed care packs, including food, sanitiser and face masks, to disadvantaged families. Another initiative, funded by Swire Properties Community Caring Fund, is the “Caring Starts from Home” programme, which has distributed 2,800 safety care packs to at-risk frontline workers.
While the coronavirus pandemic will continue to have profound and long-term effects, it is hoped these contributions will go some small way towards sustaining the communities where Swire operates and help equip them to meet the challenges they face.
