New Charitable Initiative to Reinforce Swire's Commitment to Serving Hong Kong

The Swire Group Charitable Trust ("Swire Trust"), the philanthropic arm of the Swire Group, is launching a new initiative, TrustTomorrow, with the goal of supporting projects that bring hope and positive outcomes in the community in the areas of Education, Marine Conservation and the Arts. It also aims to support vulnerable groups most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recognising the impact of COVID-19 on the lives of every single person in Hong Kong, TrustTomorrow's first priority is to provide practical and timely support in collaboration with Swire's non-profit partners and other change-makers. As a result, in addition to the initiatives we committed to in early 2020 to combat the pandemic, TrustTomorrow will pledge an extra HK$14 million to support vulnerable groups in the areas of food and hygiene, family wellbeing and building social capital.

"The Swire Trust envisions a flourishing world of diversity, equal opportunity and sustainable growth. The Hong Kong community has helped Swire thrive over the past 150 years, and we are committed to demonstrating our ongoing support for Hong Kong through inspiring new initiatives such as TrustTomorrow," says Tina Chan, Head of Philanthropy at the Swire Trust. "To achieve this, we are partnering with various organisations to serve the members of our community most in need and deliver immediate and long-term positive impact."

Support for vulnerable groups as part of ongoing response to pandemic

The upcoming TrustTomorrow initiatives, to be rolled out in late September, will fund relief support worth HK$14 million, that will benefit over 100,000 people in Hong Kong through 85 organisations. The programmes are grouped under three themes:

• Food and hygiene
  After receiving positive feedback from food programmes implemented during the early onset of COVID-19, we will continue to support the underprivileged community and address their immediate needs. Highlighted programmes include:
  - Delivering fresh food packs in five districts (Sham Shui Po, Kwun Tong, Yau Tsim Mong, Central and Western, Tung Chung) in September and October 2020.
  
  - Setting up 54 "Joyful pop-up" stores in three districts (Tsuen Wan, Sham Shui Po and Tin Shui Wai) from March to December 2021 and providing redemption cards for underprivileged families to redeem free food and necessities of their choice, in order to ease financial hardship.
  
  - Providing Germagic antimicrobial coating spray to all 18 special educational needs schools with boarding services; as well as to over 80,000 tenants living in subdivided units in districts including Tsz Wan Shan, Ngau Tau Kok, Kwun Tong and To Kwa Wan.

• Family wellbeing
  To support the mental wellbeing of those who are struggling with prolonged social distancing, from November, we will collaborate with NGO partners to introduce the "See You Online" programme, featuring a set of virtual activities, ranging from storytelling and painting sessions to yoga classes. It will also enable the public to gain a better understanding of the work performed by the NGOs.

• Building social capital
  In order to help strengthen NGO capabilities under the "new normal" of COVID and social distancing, a few selected NGO partners will receive in-depth auditing to evaluate where they stand in terms of their digital strategy and what gaps to fill to strengthen their services and operations. Webinars are also underway to support the wider NGO community and help them to stay connected and strong despite the challenges presented by the pandemic.

Meeting the community's most pressing needs at the onset of COVID-19

During the first half of 2020, with the early onset of the pandemic, the Swire Trust provided financial relief worth HK$15 million to support projects providing food and hygiene supplies, benefitting over 122,000 people in Hong Kong. These projects included:

• Delivering fresh food to the needy
  In partnership with St. James' Settlement FOOD-CO, we have delivered fresh food packs to 5,000 underprivileged individuals since March 2020, through 108 NGOs, churches and schools.


• Providing immediate support to communities in need
  In partnership with the Hong Kong Council of Social Service ("HKCSS"), we launched a Community Fund in early 2020 to support a wide range of initiatives, benefitting over 25,000 people through 25 NGOs. The initiatives included providing food, hygiene and social care support, loaning second-hand electronic tablets to children from disadvantaged families for online learning, and arranging for nurses to make home visits to the elderly.


• Providing hand sanitisers
  In partnership with HKCSS, we provided over 90,000 bottles of hand sanitisers to NGOs and disadvantaged groups and distributed leaflets to promote health and hygiene.


• Subsidising rent for subdivided residential units
  From May to June 2020, we worked with HKCSS to provide 500 underprivileged households with a one-off subsidy of HK$5,000 each - equivalent to the median monthly rent of a subdivided residential unit.


• Distributing care packs
  In partnership with HandsOn Hong Kong, we distributed care packs to 315 families through five NGOs to support underprivileged groups.

Says Tina Chan: "TrustTomorrow is about more than providing pandemic relief. The long-term vision of this programme is to build a better tomorrow for Hong Kong. TrustTomorrow will aim to achieve this by creating new and inspiring programmes that aim to bring positive, meaningful change in the areas of Education, Marine Conservation and the Arts in Hong Kong. Our hope is that TrustTomorrow will not only support Hong Kong during the present challenging times, but also bring lasting benefits and opportunities so our children may enjoy a better tomorrow."

Notes to editor:

Please download high-resolution photos here.

Photo	Caption
	Tina Chan, Head of Philanthropy for The Swire Group Charitable Trust
	A volunteer delivers fresh food to the needy through the St. James' Settlement FOOD-CO food programme funded by TrustTomorrow.
	Under TrustTomorrow' support, Germagic antimicrobial coating spray is provided to special educational needs schools with boarding services.
	Parents of Special Educational Needs children volunteer to pack sanitising supplies to be distributed to people in need.
	A nurse from South Kwai Chung Social Service, a Hong Kong Council of Social Service member organisation, visits an elderly woman to give medical support.

About the Swire Group Charitable Trust

Established in 1983, the Swire Group Charitable Trust ("Swire Trust") is a Hong Kong charity registered under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance. Its aim is to effect positive change in the areas of Education, Marine Conservation and the Arts by supporting registered non-profit organisations primarily in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. Guided by the Swire Group (and Swire family) motto, Esse Quam Videri, the Swire Trust is motivated by altruism and aims to act for the direct benefit of society and the greater good.

About Swire

A highly diversified, global corporation, the Swire Group's businesses encompass property, aviation, beverages and food chain, as well as marine services and trading and industrial activities. Its core businesses are mainly focused on Asia, with its key operations in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. The Swire Group's businesses in Asia are held by the listed company, Swire Pacific Limited. For further details, please see our website www.swire.com .