SAPGOC announces Deloitte as first official sponsor of the 8th ASEAN Para Games

Singapore, 7 July 2015 – The Singapore ASEAN Para Games Organising Committee (SAPGOC) announced today at a ceremony that Deloitte has been appointed the first official sponsor in the role of Official Professional Services Partner for the 8th ASEAN Para Games, which will be held in Singapore from 3 to 9 December 2015.

Deloitte has a wealth of experience in supporting major sporting events such as the London Olympics, the Vancouver Winter Olympics and the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, with the latest being the 28th SEA Games that was held in Singapore in June 2015. Extending its support for local sports by partnering with SAPGOC, Deloitte will help raise the awareness and reinforce the commitment towards advancing disability sports in Singapore. Through this sponsorship, Deloitte will also lend its support and encouragement to youths with disabilities.

For the ASEAN Para Games, Deloitte will be contributing cash, professional service delivery, marketing and creative support and Games volunteers, making it a Tier 1 sponsor and the Official Professional Services Partner of the Games.

“It is our privilege to be appointed the Official Professional Services Partner for the 8th ASEAN Para Games. Through our excellence in delivery, innovative solutions and our desire to contribute positively to our community, Deloitte supports SAPGOC’s goal of promoting friendship and solidarity amongst persons with disabilities in the ASEAN region through sport. We hope that the achievements of the para athletes can inspire even more people to come forward to try out the different types of sports and help raise awareness and support for people with disabilities around the region,” said Mr Philip Yuen, Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte Singapore.

“Deloitte’s involvement in the 8th ASEAN Para Games is a fine example of their long-term commitment towards an inclusive society that can live better through sport. Their track record in contributing to local sports events, most notably the recent SEA Games, and their membership of the Spex Business Network speaks for itself and we are excited to be working with them yet again. With Deloitte onboard as our first sponsor, we are confident in achieving our sponsorship target for the 8th ASEAN Para Games,” said Mr Lim Teck Yin, Chairman of SAPGOC EXCO.

Deloitte will assist SAPGOC with expertise through a secondee programme together with support in terms of risk management, publicity and marketing of the Games. Deloitte will also contribute through volunteerism to help the organising committee run a seamless operation, making it an ASEAN Para Games to remember for Singapore and the region.

“Our involvement with the ASEAN Para Games and the SEA Games cements our support for all athletes. At Deloitte, we believe in strength through diversity: a value that encourages inclusiveness and recognizes the contributions of everyone including people with disabilities. This partnership with the ASEAN Para Games underscores our commitment towards encouraging more youths with disabilities to get in touch with sports. It also signifies the start of our long-term focus towards helping Singapore build a more inclusive society, in which people with disabilities are empowered to reach their potential and be integral members of society,” said Mr Yuen.

Since 2014, through its corporate responsibility programmes, Deloitte has been supporting people with disabilities in partnership with the Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC), raising funds that were channelled towards supporting youths with disabilities through the programmes under SDSC, the only organisation in Singapore which reaches across all disability groups. To date, Deloitte has helped raise SGD100,000 for SDSC through internal fund raising efforts, particularly at the Deloitte Southeast Asia Partners Conference 2014, which was held in Singapore. This sum is a combination of funds raised by Deloitte Southeast Asia, and a dollar-to-dollar matching from the Care & Share movement led by Community Chest as part of Singapore’s 50th year of independence SG50 initiatives.

Deloitte is also the charity partner of the “Back Up the 8th ASEAN Para Games 2015” campaign. This campaign is currently on-going and will end on 13 July 2015. Through this campaign, Deloitte will donate up to SGD50,000 for schools and organisations that support persons with disabilities.

Deloitte Singapore is also represented as part of a specially-convened Committee on Disability Sports which is chaired by Mr Sam Tan, Minister of State, Prime Minister’s Office & Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. The Committee, which was convened to look at how Singapore can build a lasting legacy for disability sports beyond the Games, will provide recommendations specifically on ways to raise awareness of and participation in sport by persons with disabilities and engender greater inclusiveness and understanding of persons with disabilities through disability sports.