Corporate social responsibility
The Sun Life Financial Philippines Foundation
Through the years, Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc. has never wavered in its commitment to alleviate the plight of the needy and disadvantaged members of Philippine society. As a good corporate citizen in the Philippines, we introduced in 1992 the S.H.A.R.E.S. Program – Sharing Hope And Resources for Education and Social Services. Our belief is that “Corporate Citizenship starts within the Company.” We manage the company, and its internal environment and culture, in a way that is challenging, fair and equitable. We maintain a caring attitude for our people and policyholders because we believe that they will carry forth and share that same attitude in the communities in which they live.
S.H.A.R.E.S
Even before the SHARES program began in 1992, we were already involved in relief operations for disaster-stricken areas in the country. Through SHARES, we have forged vital links with humanitarian, research and academic institutions, non-government agencies and non-profit groups to help deliver social amelioration. From SHARES, Sun Life Philippines finalized the creation of a foundation in 2008 primarily to expand its Corporate Social Responsibility Efforts and create a bigger umbrella program that would cater to the needs of various communities nationwide. Named as “Sun Life Financial Philippines Foundation,” this duly incorporated entity is governed by a Board of Trustees and an Executive Committee which administers the funding activities in the following areas of concern : Education, Healthcare, Environment and Social Charities and Culture.
Major Contributions
- In the fields of education and research, we have created a fund that will enable business researchers at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) to conduct studies that relate business practices to the teaching of ethics.
- In addition to our efforts to help professionalize the insurance industry in the Philippines, in 1992 we also established a scholarship program for Actuarial Science at the University of the Philippines Department of Mathematics. We chose this subject because of the direct impact it had on the insurance industry in the country, which then had only 65 actuaries. Education is a lasting endowment of our program of Corporate Citizenship.
- In the field of healthcare, the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) has found a strong ally in us. Our annual nationwide Bloodletting drive finds employees and agents donating thousands of units of blood every year towards the PNRC bloodbank.
- What’s more, through a partnership with Hallmark cards, our agents also had the opportunity to extend financial assistance to children afflicted with Leukemia.
- Social Welfare continues to remain a major area of focus for SHARES. The program serves as a platform for Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc. and its employees and agents to help develop much needed community services throughout the country. In the face of tragedies like El Niño in Mindanao and the garbage disaster in Payatas, these services have helped to bring back hope to people’s lives.
- Time and again, our employees and agents have taken the word “volunteerism” to heart and alleviated the lives of countless Filipinos. The same spirit of volunteerism helped build hundreds of Habitat for Humanity homes for the Jimmy Carter Work Project '99 Program, and for Youth Build 2002.
- Another area of focus for SHARES is the environment. In this regard, it continues
to support the “Save the La Mesa Watershed” project in partnership with the ABS-CBN Foundation.
- A Lifetime Commitment
- Corporate Citizenship will always be a part of the Sun Life Financial business in the Philippines and around the world. Like the sun's rays that shine on everything, the success that we have been blessed with over decades of service in the Philippines is shared not only by our stakeholders but also by the Filipino people. By enriching the lives of others, we enrich ourselves.
