Zurich Malaysia raised RM122,500 for underprivileged children through its annual Community Week

Have fun and be merry in the name of charity! That was exactly what employees of Zurich Insurance Malaysia Berhad (ZIMB) as well as Zurich Takaful Malaysia Berhad (ZTMB) (“Zurich Malaysia”) did during Zurich Community Week (ZCW), the company’s annual week-long charity initiative held from 24^th to 27^th July.

Formerly known as Global Community Week, ZCW serves as a platform for employees to engage in Zurich's corporate responsibility initiatives. During a particular week of each year, about 54,000 Zurich employees all over the world pool their time, skills and resources together to conduct fundraising or volunteering activities that make a positive difference within their respective local communities.

This year, Zurich Malaysia brings a taste of tropical paradise to its ZCW with the theme ‘Zutopia’. The week-long charity initiative kicked off with a donation drive among its employees, charity movie nights for underprivileged children and ended with the highly anticipated Zutopia Charity Day held at the company’s headquarters in Menara Zurich.

The Zutopia Charity Day saw more than 1,000 employees crowding the lobby of Menara Zurich to participate in a series of fun-filled charitable activities. Close to 100 employees manned booths selling scrumptious homemade food, desserts, snacks, pastries, fruit juices and tit bits, as well as exciting games and photo booth areas, which were all designed and decorated in a colourful, tropical theme. One of the main attractions and highlights of the charity day was a special “Dunk Your Boss” booth where eight (8) selected Senior Management team members of Zurich Malaysia volunteered to be submerged in a pool of water by employees, all in the name of charity!

Showing support and cheering on the employees at the charity day was Philip Smith, Chief Executive Officer of ZIMB and Executive Director of ZTMB who shared his sentiment on the annual initiative. “Different concepts and themes are introduced every year since the ZCW was first launched in 2012. The idea is to get our people motivated and excited to be part of a meaningful initiative that makes a difference to our communities, especially the wellbeing of underprivileged children. I am delighted that our employees understand our role as a responsible corporate citizen and have consistently put in commendable effort, dedication and most importantly their goodwill to ensure ZCW is always a success.”

Zurich Malaysia raised RM61,250 with the amount matched Ringgit for Ringgit by the Z Zurich Foundation, bringing the total contribution to RM122,500. Adding to this, a total of 2,638 volunteer hours were clocked in by employees during the week-long event. To date, under the ZCW initiative, Zurich Malaysia has donated more than RM600,000 to selected beneficiaries with most contribution matched by the Z Zurich Foundation.

This year, the proceeds will be channelled to four (4) selected beneficiaries in Malaysia, which are Spastic Children Association of Selangor & Federal Territory, Trinity Children Centre, Rumah Titian Kaseh, as well as Persatuan Sokongan Ibu dan Anak Kurang Upaya Azwar Kuala Lumpur & Selangor. These selected beneficiaries focus on the welfare and wellbeing of underprivileged children, which is well in line with Zurich Malaysia’s commitment in contributing to the development and betterment of children.

The ZCW was also executed at the branch level where employees in Zurich Malaysia branch offices nationwide were empowered to run their own charitable activities. Many branches donated monetary funds, school and food supplies, helped cleaned charitable homes and even treated underprivileged children to a shopping spree.

For more information and update on Zurich Malaysia’s endeavour towards corporate responsibility, please visit www.zurich.com.my or its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ZurichMYS