The 10th Citi-HKCSS Community Intern Program Cultivates Corporate Social Responsibility in Future Leaders

76 Business University Students Completed the Internships in 40 local NGOs

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 1 November 2020 - The 2020 Citi-Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) Community Intern Program (CIP) came to a successful completion. In its 10^th year running, the success of this year's program also marks a significant milestone in this cross-sector partnership. The Recognition Ceremony was held recently to pay tribute to the interns for their contribution to community affairs.

This year, 76 business students from ten local universities completed their internships in 40 local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) during July and August. The internships were more challenging than ever, given the influence of the pandemic. Students were asked to incorporate enhanced adaptability and independence, and to utilize their business knowledge and expertise to help build capacity for the NGOs to meet social needs.

Sponsored and organised by Citi and co-organized by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS), the program is the first-of-its-kind cross-sector collaboration between academia, business and the NGO sector, offering a unique opportunity to students majoring in business studies to intern with local NGOs. The aim is to inspire the students to contribute their knowledge and expertise to the NGOs to help them build capacity, as well as to cultivate the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the students and provide them with a broadened understanding of the needs of the community. Since its inception in 2010, 770 students and over 250 NGOs have participated in the program.

At the Recognition Ceremony, Mr. Wayne Fong, Head of Corporate Affairs, Citi Hong Kong said, "The program has reached its 10^th Anniversary. We are glad to see this cross-sector partnership has borne fruit -- young people who understand and care about social needs have now entered the workforce, and they are motivated to promote corporate social responsibility. I hope all of you will treasure the program experience and utilize your strengths to discover ways to give back to society. You can be more than just a part of the business elite, by driving the community development and creating more opportunities for progress."

Mr. Chua Hoi Wai, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service said, "Stepping into our 10^th year of CIP, we are grateful for the concerted efforts of participating universities, students and placement organizations. Placement organizations play an indispensable role. We appreciate their unfailing support for our program through these years. What makes our program special is the design of inter-field cooperation and we strive for a win-win situation for our participants. Organizations provide students with placement opportunities, while business students in return utilize their classroom knowledge to bring in innovations and inspiration to the organizations, allowing them to complement each other. Despite the difficulties we encountered this year due to the pandemic, we overcame and adapted to the new work-from-home mode together with patience and flexibility. We are delighted to see our alumni sharing their career pathways with newcomers to our program during training sessions and thankful for their participation in filming our 10^th anniversary video. Last but not least, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to Citi for their wholehearted support over the past ten years. I hope CIP will connect all our alumni and placement organizations and continue our future journey hand in hand."

Four participants were awarded the "Grand Award for Excellence" in recognition of their outstanding performance during the internships. They were: Cheng Tsz Yau and Tsoi Wing Sze from the City University of Hong Kong, who designed and implemented a series of product development and marketing strategies for a Mid-Autumn Festival handmade soap sales campaign during their internships at Healthy Hong Kong Ltd.; and Tsang Chiu Yin from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Pang Ka Yam from the City University of Hong Kong, who interned at TWGHs Jockey Club Ngai Chun Integrated Vocational Rehabilitation Centre, performing client sourcing for production work carried out by persons of disabilities, as well as producing marketing campaigns for the centre's festival products and restaurants.

Said City University of Hong Kong's Tsoi Wing Sze, "During my internship at Healthy Hong Kong, I mainly assisted on business-related activities, suggested some marketing strategies and managed social media. I was responsible for organizing a Mid-Autumn Festival bazaar. CIP has provided this unique opportunity for me to apply my business knowledge in the operation of an NGO. In addition, I gained a deeper understanding of the community, was exposed to different social issues, reflected on my personal values, and contributed to society."

A 20-hour pre-internship training series was conducted to equip the interns with a better understanding of the social service sector and social issues, covering topics including the disparity between rich and poor, the ageing population, environmental protection, and social enterprise.

Workshops were also provided to teach them the practical skills and techniques required by the social service sector and outreach activities. The participating NGOs cover a wide range of social welfare needs of diverse social groups such as low-income earners and their families, students with special educational needs and people with disabilities, and also promote environmental awareness.

Photos:

(First row third and fourth from left) Mr. Chua Hoi Wai, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) and Mr. Wayne Fong, Head of Corporate Affairs, Citi Hong Kong; with Citi executives, representatives of business schools from Hong Kong universities, representatives from placement NGOs, and interns.

Representatives of the interns present a souvenir book of photos to Mr. Wayne Fong, Head of Corporate Affairs, Citi Hong Kong (third from left), at the Recognition Ceremony, as a token of thanks to Citi for organizing the Citi-HKCSS Community Intern Program, thereby helping them to build their capacity to respond to changing community needs.

Mr. Wayne Fong, Head of Corporate Affairs, Citi Hong Kong (second from left), pictured with the student team who won the "Grand Award for Excellence" and representative of the NGO.

Click HERE to download the photos.

About the HKCSS

The HKCSS is an umbrella organisation of more than 480 agency members that provide over 90% of the social welfare services in Hong Kong. HKCSS launched the Caring Company Scheme in 2002 to build a cohesive society by promoting strategic partnership among business and social service partners and inspiring corporate social responsibility through caring for the community, employees and the environment. HKCSS puts much effort into building capacity for social enterprises through the Social Enterprise Business Centre (SEBC) to advance social entrepreneurship and mobilize social innovation.

Additional information may be found at www.hkcss.org.hk | Facebook: www.facebook.com/hkcssfans

About Citi

Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.