Sands for Singapore Charity Festival 2022 Raises S$4 Million for the Local Community

In September, Sands’ resort in Singapore, Marina Bay Sands, welcomed back its signature event, the Sands for Singapore Charity Festival, September 8 – 10 at the outdoor Event Plaza.

On hiatus for the past two years due to the pandemic, Sands for Singapore Charity Festival 2022 returned with gusto, bringing together close to 5,000 visitors for an array of philanthropic activities, entertainment performances, shopping, dining and crafting opportunities. In addition to activities for the community, Sands for Singapore Charity Festival 2022 also capped a month of fundraising by Marina Bay Sands. In total, these efforts raised S$4 million for the local community.

The three-day extravaganza has been Marina Bay Sands’ primary charitable and community event since 2013 and supports a number of charitable organizations, including Community Chest, which raises money for more than 100 social service agencies as the fundraising arm of the National Council of Social Service in Singapore.

Sands for Singapore Charity Festival 2022 kicked off on September 8 with a special edition of Spectra, Marina Bay Sands’ light and water show. Youth mentees from Care Singapore were invited to enjoy the evening with their Marina Bay Sands Team Member mentors. Before and during the Festival, more than 1,100 Team Members volunteered for activities, including painting Transitional Shelter Units for AWWA, a social service agency; assembling and delivering food kits to The Food Bank Singapore’s beneficiaries, as well as donating blood to boost Singapore’s low blood bank supply with Singapore Red Cross. Marina Bay Sands amplified Team Members’ work with donations totaling S$120,000 to fund programs that support the elderly, individuals with special needs, art awareness and more.

One of the Festival’s premier annual features, the Giving Marketplace, enabled visitors to shop for a cause to benefit nonprofit organizations and social enterprises. All proceeds from the Giving Marketplace were retained by participating organizations to support their beneficiaries.

Participating organizations included Art Outreach Singapore, a Sands Cares Accelerator member and local nonprofit that promotes art appreciation in Singapore, which offered pieces from commissioned art installations and artist collaborations; and Image Mission, a charity that helps women gain confidence and secure a better future through employment, which sold gently used clothes and offered the services of an on-site stylist. Other wares included floral art arranged by seniors at Care Corner Singapore’s Active Aging Centres and crafts created through touch by the visually impaired at the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped.

For the first time, the Giving Marketplace also included local small businesses, such as independent bookstore Basheer Graphic Books, small batch kombucha brewery company Wild Boocha and artisan plant boutique The Nursery Singapore. Participating small businesses committed at least 10% of their proceeds to local charities. Marina Bay Sands’ restaurants also participated in the Giving Marketplace, offering signature dishes, with proceeds donated to Community Chest.

Sands for Singapore Charity Festival 2022 culminated on September 10 with the annual Community Chest Heartstrings Walk and Vertical Marathon, which Marina Bay Sands has helped to co-organize since 2011. More than 3,000 people participated in the 4-kilometer Charity Fun Walk at the Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade, which benefitted the Community Chest’s support for children with special needs, at-risk youth, adults with disabilities, persons with mental health conditions, and seniors and families in need.

Also on closing day, Marina Bay Sands hosted the 7th Singapore Red Cross Humanitarian Conference 2022 at Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Themed “Humanitarian Responses to COVID-19: Anxiety & Hope,” the conference focused on the immediate consequences and long-term implications of COVID-19.

“The Sands for Singapore Charity Festival has always been a special event at Marina Bay Sands,” said Paul Town, Chief Operating Officer of Marina Bay Sands. “As a people business, we have committed ourselves to care for the community we operate in and make a positive impact for those in need, which is why we are pleased that we could welcome the return of the Festival and engage our employees, charitable organizations, and the wider community for a common cause in person again. We are thankful for the strong support from everyone at the Festival, and it has strengthened our resolve to create more opportunities to pay it forward to create a kinder, gentler home to all Singaporeans.”

Since 2013, Sands for Singapore Charity Festival has raised more than S$31 million for local charities. The event is part of the Sands Cares global community engagement program, which aims to drive impact and inspire change in Sands’ communities through corporate giving, nonprofit capacity building and Team Member volunteerism. To learn more about Sands Cares, please visit https://www.sands.com/responsibility/communities/#our-program-sands-cares