More companies are recognising that the arts are an integral part of active community life and have partnered Esplanade in our drive to bring the arts to the community. They support us through contributions as festival sponsors and/or incorporate arts programmes as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility engagements with community groups.
Barclays Wealth started as our principal sponsor for da:ns festival in 2008, its contributions were instrumental in the running of the festival programmes. In 2009, they deepened their commitment to the arts and extended their sponsorship of da:ns festival 2009 to include a community project with Children-At-Risk Empowerment Association (CARE Singapore), where staff volunteers worked together with youths to learn hip-hop dance in an introductory workshop under the Footwork for Community series.
Realising that the arts can help youths channel their energies in a positive way, Barclays Wealth deepened their engagement with CARE Singapore through a strategic Footwork initiative in 2010. Working on a longer-term basis with Esplanade, they sponsored a three-month programme from February to April to give youths who were interested in hip-hop dance an opportunity to sharpen their skills. The programme also aimed to cultivate important life values among the youths through the learning process. It was an amazing journey for the 21 youths who were tested not just on their dancing skills but also their personal endurance and character development as the sessions progressed. The programme culminated in two dance performances at the school for their peers. We received positive feedback from the youths that they had learnt important values such as respect teamwork and perseverance through this initiative. They have also expressed their own intentions to keep their own dance sessions going even after the project ended.
City Gas is another strong supporter of the arts. Since 2007, the company has been partnering Esplanade annually as a sponsor for different festivals such as Pesta Raya, Kalaa Utsavam, Moonfest and Octoburst. Each year, its staff volunteers also engage their adopted beneficiaries in an art activity linked to the respective festivals with the objective to expose their beneficiaries to the joy of the arts, promoting general well-being through arts engagement. This year, City Gas continues their support for the arts by sponsoring our Footwork public workshops under da:ns festival 2010. Its staff will bring the joy of dance to their beneficiaries as they get into the rhythm in an introductory Footwork dance workshop to learn some basic and slick moves!
If your company is interested to explore collaborations with Esplanade to support the Arts and bring the Arts to the less privileged community, please contact Mr Lim Ewe Leong at leweleong@esplanade.com
