1 December 2006 - BEC Member News
HSBC launches 5-year initiative in US$10 Million to Combat Child Poverty

BEC's Council Member, The Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. (HSBC) launches the Future First program to combat child poverty. It endeavours to provide education, healthcare, counselling and shelter to hundreds of thousands of street children, children in care and foster children. It is a global US$10 million 5-year initiative (2007-2012) launched by HSBC's Global Education Trust. It collaborates with SOS Children's Villages - the world's largest non-profit organization for orphans - and with local charitable organizations in countries where HSBC has a presence.

Dame Mary Richardson, Chief Executive of the HSBC Global Education Trust said, "We think this is going to make a measurable difference in the lives of some of the most marginalized and impoverished members of society. HSBC believes financial institutions have a role to play in helping to integrate youth from disadvantaged backgrounds into the fabric of society, not only to improve the quality of their lives, but also they can be fully active citizens who contribute to the economic prosperity of their local communities."

Helmut Kutin, President, SOS Children's Villages International, said, "Working together over the next five years, SOS Children's Villages and HSBC will support some of the world's most vulnerable orphaned and abandoned children and their communities. By providing an education, vocational skills and basic but vital support through difficult times, HSBC will assist SOS in ensuring a secure future for these children and their families for generations to come."

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