Kuala Lumpur - Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor) launched its CSR Programme today (30 June 2020 )under the #sesamamara banner; a call to action which underlines how Air Selangor together with its stakeholders will join hands in lifting their spirits and helping each other to move forward, especially during this challenging times.

Air Selangor kicked off their CSR programme at Village Grocer, MyTOWN Shopping Centre with the launch of Box of Hope, a partnership in collaboration with Village Grocer and Yayasan Food Bank Malaysia. This initiative encourages customers to donate essential food items to the special Air Selangor x Village Grocer’s Box of Hope which will be placed in participating Village Grocer outlets across Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Cyberjaya. Items collected from these boxes will be distributed to the various charities associated with Yayasan Food Bank.

“The Box of Hope programme is the first initiative under the #sesamamara programme, which is a series of initiatives geared towards providing a more sustainable assistance to communities in need. Our current focus is to help the urban poor families that fall under the B40 category across 35 Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) within the Klang Valley that have been affected by Covid-19 for their post-recovery”, said Air Selangor’s Director and Head of Operations, Ir. Abas Abdullah.

“We understand that there are Malaysians out there who are in dire need of help, especially those who are affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, and we believe that this is our first step towards helping them”, he added.

“Village Grocer is delighted to be a part of this initiative. We know that generosity is at the core of the Malaysian culture, but giving can be hampered without a credible platform to do so. A total of 5 Village Grocer outlets will participate in this programme and we call on our customers to come forward to donate essential food items to the communities in need. The participating locations are MyTOWN Shopping Centre, Melawati Mall, 1 Mont Kiara, Tamarind Square, Cyberjaya and Central i-City”, said Geoff King, CEO of TFP Retail Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Village Grocer (Bangsar) Sdn Bhd).

Geoff also added, “In our own efforts to cushion the impacts of COVID-19, Village Grocer has been donating surplus food to Zoo Negara, delivering food packages to local orphanages and children homes, and we also created a food donation program which utilises loyalty points donated by many of our charitable customers.”

Air Selangor has also placed the Box of Hope at their customer service centres to allow employees and surrounding communities to donate more conveniently, without having the need to travel further to do so. The box at the customer service centres however, will focus on accepting donations in the form of clothes, books, and toys for the less fortunate. The participating Air Selangor customer service centres are at Kuala Lumpur, Petaling, Gombak and Klang/Shah Alam and Hulu Langat.

Under the #sesamamara programme, Air Selangor is introducing several other initiatives to provide a more sustainable assistance to individuals and communities post COVID-19. This includes two initiatives for the public; the Plumbing Apprenticeship Programme that will benefit individuals who are looking to reskill their current career option as well as Air Selangor Plumbing Assistance Service for recipients with financial constraints and those in need for immediate plumbing repair.

The CSR programme will also see Air Selangor participating in an animal adoption initiative with Zoo Negara as an effort to provide better long-term sustainability for the animals under the zoo’s care. Children of Air Selangor employees within the B40 category will also benefit from a special educational programme that ensures that these students are not missing out in their education due to COVID-19.

With the launch of the #sesamamara programme, Air Selangor aims to encourage more individuals and organisations to come together and lend a hand towards providing the necessary support for the less fortunate and the deserving, post COVID-19.