Environmental Protection and Conservation
Cherishing the Earth, Caring for the Environment
In the area of environmental protection, SKFH has long been a pacesetter within Taiwan's financial industry. At 8:30 p.m., March 28, 2009, Shin Kong turned electricity off for an hour at 26 Shin Kong Life (SKL) buildings, 107 Shin Kong Bank (SKB) branches, outside walls, company occupied floors, advertising signs and other facilities to encourage participation in conjunction with the "Earth Hour" event organized by the Sydney-based World Wildlife Fund to combat global warming. This activity is the largest global activity in support of energy conservation and carbon reduction.
SKFH has also been promoting energy conservation internally through initiatives like turning up air conditioner temperatures and asking employees to dress lightly in summer. Compared with 2006 when the program was initiated, energy saving measures introduced at the Shin Kong Life Tower reduced electricity usage by 13.15 kilowatts per square meter, eliminating nearly 240 metric tons of carbon emissions. In future, SKFH will gradually install energy-saving lights, adjust illumination of advertising signs depending on seasonal changes, and insulate buildings to retain cooled air.
In order to combat global warming, SKL, SKB and the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy teamed up to hold the 2009 "Shin Kong National Children's Drawing Contest" under the theme "Loving the World Together for a Brighter Future". This activity promoted the concepts of energy conservation and carbon reduction to foster green habits early in life.
SKL has also been working tirelessly in the area of wildlife conservation. In 1988, the company celebrated its 25th anniversary by donating over NT$300 million to the Zoological Society of Taipei to build the "Shin Kong Special Exhibit House" at the Taipei Zoo. This multifunctional facility is dedicated to exhibitions of endangered animals and has been used as the “Panda House” since 2009.
Philanthropy and Public Welfare
Developing Strategic Philanthropy
Shin Kong Life Foundation (SKLF) approaches its mission of social service based on the concept of "strategic philanthropy". In partnership with other philanthropic groups, the foundation has launched and supported numerous programs that seek to address the root causes of issues facing society today.
1. Educational Support for Indigenous Youth
The Smangus and Cinsbu tribes in Jianshi Township, Hsinchu County are located in remote areas, forcing most tribe parents to look for work outside the community. This has created a situation in which the children are often reared by their grandparents. Moreover, due to frequent natural disasters and the difficulty earning a livelihood, many families leave the tribes for Chutung Township. The newly relocated parents are often too busy to fully care for their children or help with homework, resulting in a high dropout rate.
SKLF and the Rainbow Project have therefore been collaborating to offer supplementary classes for young people in Smangus, Cinsbu and Chutung. The classes provide after-school care to help minimize family problems faced by indigenous children and help aboriginal youth to compete in the workplace. Since its launch in 2004, the program has improved homework completion rate from 40% originally to 90% at present. Over the past five years, the program has served over 45,000 school children, helping them improve their academic performance.
Aboriginal youth living in remote rural areas often face environmental limitations, resulting in a lopsided view of urban life. SKLF therefore has arranged Aboriginal Youth City Experience Camps that give young people new practical experience and correct concepts of city life. Since 2004, 294 students have participated in this activity, with a satisfaction rate of over 90%. Moreover, in 2009, the foundation and SKB held a money management seminar in Puli Township to teach parents in indigenous communities how to avoid becoming victims of fraud or bankruptcy, with an aim to minimize financially related social problems. Over 90% of the participating parents said that the seminar was highly beneficial.
SKLF Executive Director Cynthia Wu emphasizes that in future, the foundation will focus on raising the quality of classes for indigenous children to improve their chances of academic advancement as well as stimulate and motivate kids to learn. The foundation also hopes that these students will fully develop their potential, and ultimately contribute their abilities in their hometowns.
2. Women's Health
According to statistics compiled by the Department of Health (DOH), breast cancer has surpassed cervical cancer as the biggest killer of women in Taiwan. Since 2007, SKLF and Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital have been working together to issue coupons for ultrasound breast checkups. This has substantially increased the cancer-screening rate and helped women to discover and treat breast cancer in its early stages. To date, 10,183 women have undergone examinations with support from this program.
In 2009, SKLF and the Taiwan Breast Cancer Alliance trained a total of 78 volunteer breast cancer survivors to staff the "Love Breast Hotline", providing support and information on medical care for the general public. The hotline served an average of 310 people per month, or about 4,000 in total, during 2009. The foundation and SKL also jointly arranged community courses in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung to promote self-examination for breast cancer. In addition, SKLF has been promoting breast cancer prevention awareness through ATMs at 107 SKB branches nationwide.
3. Handing Down Wisdom
The needs of the elderly in Taiwan are becoming increasingly apparent with the aging of society, changing family structures, and a weakening of traditional concepts of caring for one's parents. After assessing the service needs of the elderly in Taiwan, SKLF and New York-based Elders Share the Arts (ESTA) introduced the "History Alive" and "Legacy Art Works" programs to serve seniors in Taiwan.
"History Alive" encourages seniors to share their life stories with children through interactive classes at elementary schools. In 2009, "History Alive" was joined by about 360 seniors and 220 students at Mingde, Shijian and Jian'an elementary schools in Taipei. New training courses were also arranged for program leaders, and training was provided to seed instructors at 15 Senior Active Learning and Resource Centers, extending the program to 30 areas. The program also incorporated, for the first time, the methods of experimental theater to enhance cross-generation interaction. SKLF also launched a "History Alive" website (http://www.sklf.org.tw/historyalive/) and produced a short documentary to promote public understanding of the spirit and mission of this program.
"Legacy Art Works" gives seniors with disabilities a chance to recount their life stories and memories through the creative medium of visual art, with theme-based and purpose-based guidance from group leaders. Through this platform, seniors can pass on their experience to the next generation, like heirlooms passed down to family and friends. The program also helps seniors enjoy a higher quality of life through increased social interaction, rekindling the spark of life for long-term residents of senior homes. In 2009, SKLF held the first international certification ceremony for "Legacy Art Works" group leaders, during which 15 people became Taiwan's first internationally certified program leaders.
4. Corporate Volunteering
In August 2009, SKLF formed the "Shin Kong LOHAS Volunteer Club" to foster a spirit of volunteer service at Shin Kong. The foundation arranged volunteer training courses, including classes on "Children's Safety Education", "Experiencing Aging Activities", as well as volunteer service activities. Since the club's creation, 144 people have taken classes on volunteering and 63 people have provided a total of 511 hours of volunteer services.
In partnership with the Hondao Welfare Foundation, SKLF also arranged "Experiencing Aging Volunteer Day" activities for young SKL employees in northern, central and southern Taiwan. Participants donned patented 'aging' equipment in order to experience first-hand the many difficulties that older people face in their daily life. The activity aimed to build empathy for the elderly and help people foster healthy ideas and attitudes towards volunteer services for the elderly. After completing the aging experience course, participating employees provided volunteer services for elders in their community. A total of 130 people took part in the activity, with a satisfaction rate of over 90%.
Education and Culture
Working for a Better Society
Born into poverty, Shin Kong founder Mr. Ho-Su Wu had limited educational opportunities growing up. In 1973, he established the Shin Kong Life Scholarship Foundation with an initial endowment of NT$2 million to help gifted children pursue a full education. Over the years, the foundation has awarded NT$209.40 million in scholarships to 95,864 students.
SKFH also places high importance on basic education in the insurance field. Through partnerships between the business and academic sectors, the company has held the Insurance Star Career Planning and Development Camp, Beautiful Life Insurance Discovery Camp, Young Money Manager Contest, Shin Kong Children's Treasure Camp, and other activities to foster healthy concepts about insurance and money management among young people.
Arranged by SKB, the month-long Shin Kong Children's Treasure Camp seeks to improve basic financial knowledge and foster good investment and money management concepts and skills among students in the fourth to sixth grades. Over 1,600 children have participated in the camp, which has been held four times during summer vacations from 2006 to 2009. The camp is based on the four "WISE" themes of: "Wealth", "Improving Health", "Security" and "Earth Care". SKFH affiliates also contribute their expertise and resources to give the kids a fun and educational experience.
In order to promote art and art education among young people in Taiwan, SKB has been holding the "Children's Color Contest" annually during the Lantern Festival since 2006. The contest encourages children to develop their creativity and present the colorful stories of their imagination based on different color schemes.
For the past three years, SKB has also partnered with the Kaohsiung City Social Affairs Bureau, Kiss Radio and SKL to hold the annual "Christmas Dreams Come True" series of activities, including the "National Gift of Love Donation Drive", "Love Fair", and "Christmas Concert". These events have called on the public to show their heart and warmth to orphans and disadvantaged children in the Kaohsiung area.
Other Activities
Shin Kong Tower Run-up
The Shin Kong Life Tower Run-up has been held for 16 years since 1994. This activity encourages young people, groups and social figures to support various causes, including health, public safety and public service issues. Since its inception, the run-up has attracted 152,206 registrants and 61,157 participants, making it one of the biggest and best-loved events in Taipei City.
The 26th and 27th Shin Kong Life Tower Run-ups were held in 2008 under the respective themes of "Love the World: Running for Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction" and "Remembering 921: Running for Sichuan Earthquake Relief". Registration proceeds plus an additional NT$3 million from SKL were donated to the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy to fund environmental protection research and to Lifeline Express China to rebuild schools destroyed in the Sichuan earthquake.
The 28th Shin Kong Life Tower Run-up was held in 2009 under the theme of "Running for Wildlife Conservation: Cherishing Pandas, Caring for Black Bears". Supported by the Taipei Zoo and Endemic Species Research Institute under the Council of Agriculture, the activity aimed to heighten public awareness of the plight of the giant pandas and indigenous Formosan black bear, carry out ecological conservation work, and thereby give endangered species more room for survival.
SKFH will continue to act on its commitment to corporate social responsibility by giving back to society and caring for the disadvantaged. The company will also continue to promote and steadily cultivate public welfare programs to widely spread the spirit of love and care and make life better for all.