Highlights from the BDA CSR day

BDA empowers employees to dedicate a day to volunteer with local organisations, leaving behind their laptops, conference calls, and emails to make a difference in the communities they serve. In 2023, all our BDA offices participated in the BDA CSR day, illustrating their positive impact on local communities.

New York

The BDA New York team joined a mobile food drive with City Harvest in Brooklyn to aid in the distribution of approximately 13,700lbs of produce that would have otherwise gone to waste. Our team served over 470 community members in Brooklyn who lined up weekly to collect the items that City Harvest has provided to help their families. City Harvest is a non-profit organisation in charge of food rescues within New York City. City Harvest works to share food with New York residents while actively targeting the issue of food waste. They deliver groceries to food pantries and soup kitchens across the five boroughs to help feed New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity.

Mumbai

For the annual CSR day, the BDA Mumbai team supported the Robinhood Army (RHA) in serving underprivileged families in a tribal village outside of Mumbai. Our team also visited an RHA centre located in a slum area where farmer families have been rehabilitated from draught-affected areas. The RHA is a zero-funds volunteer organisation serving marginalised sections of society, including homeless families, orphanages, patients from public hospitals, and old age homes. The team packed and distributed over 100 meal boxes containing one month’s worth of grocery staples to the kids and mothers in the area. In addition, blankets were distributed to help prepare for the approaching winter. Our team enjoyed interacting with the children and building rapport with the RHA volunteers.

Singapore

The Singapore volunteered with THK Nursing Home at Hougang, an eldercare service and nursing home in the intermediate and long-term care sector. THK Nursing Home serves up to 280 residents who come from financially strapped backgrounds or are single and destitute with no family support. Our team provided companionship through various activities such as arts and crafts, board games, baking and more. Our team spent a morning with 25 residents between the ages of 70-95. We enjoyed this meaningful activity with a group of elders who are often forgotten due to their living circumstances.

Ho Chi Minh City

In Ho Chi Minh City, the BDA team worked with TRĂNG KHUYẾT to visit a floating classroom which provides education to children from low-to-no-income households and migrant families who are unable to attend school due to lack of identification or registration. This community is comprised of 100 households that have migrated from Cambodia to Vietnam and reside on boats. The children who live in this community lack access to formal education, including traditional classrooms. The team spent their day enhancing the classrooms by installing and upgrading fans, bookshelves, water filtration systems, and other classroom necessities. Solar panels were also installed to ensure a steady supply of electricity and maintain the barrels and irons that allow the classrooms to stay afloat on the river. Our team enjoyed sharing a meal with the children and encouraging them to dream beyond their limits.

Hong Kong

Our Hong Kong team supported Feeding HK, whose mission is to fight food wastage by reducing the amount of quality food that is sent to landfills in Hong Kong. Surplus food and near-expiry food are donated by food companies and supermarkets which are then repacked for donation. Their operations are limited to 20 staff members, so they rely on volunteers to help with sorting food into donation boxes. Our Hong Kong team was happy to assist in redistribution to a local food bank to feed low-income families in need.

Shanghai

For the annual CSR day, the BDA Shanghai team worked with 善淘Buy screen print on idle T-shirts and cloth bags. 善淘Buy is an organisation which focuses in recycling idle space, living materials and social manpower. They have established 20 charity shops across China, which 51% of its employees are disabled. Their mission is also to support employment for disabled people, promote a circular economy in the community, create community-integrated public space, develop sustainable rural revitalisation and dedicate general education. After the team had completed the screen printing, the goods were left for sale at the charity shop.

Seoul

The Seoul team dedicated their day to delivering Yeontan (Asian coal briquettes used for cooking and home heating) with Nanoom Korea. Nanoon Korea is a local non-profit organisation founded to support the socially vulnerable, organising events such as caring for the elderly, multicultural classes and Yeontan delivery for underdeveloped regions.

There is a small minority population in South Korea that continues to use Yeontan to derive heat from Yeontan rather than modernized heating systems. Our team helped to successfully deliver 1,000 blocks of Yeontan to five households living in Guryong Village, one of the last remaining slums in South Korea. As each household uses 200 blocks of Yeontan per month, they will all have sufficient materials to ensure a cosy end to the year.

Tokyo

The Tokyo team participated in a volunteer cleanup at Kodomo no sono Children’s Home, an orphanage located outside of Tokyo. The orphanage homes around 40 children without parents or relatives nearby. Though the facility has been renovated and cleaned, their staffing does not allow them to fully manage the large premises. Our team participated cleaning up the space by pressure washing, polishing, dusting and sweeping to ensure a fresh start to holiday season and new year.

London

The BDA London office has committed to working with a local charity, Envision, to empower young people from less advantaged backgrounds, who are often under-represented in the world of work, to develop their essential skills and confidence they need to succeed.

As part of this six-month engagement, the BDA team is interfacing with a group of local high school students to support, mentor and guide them through a key educational initiative of their choice. Through repeated interactive sessions, we hope to make a lasting difference and forge new bonds of cooperation, trust as well as professional aspiration and confidence.

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About BDA Partners

BDA Partners is the global investment banking advisor for Asia. We are a premium provider of Asia-related advice to sophisticated clients globally, with over 25 years’ experience advising on cross-border M&A, capital raising, and financial restructuring. We provide global reach with our teams in New York and London, and true regional depth through our seven Asian offices in Mumbai, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo. BDA has deep expertise in the Chemicals, Consumer & Retail, Health, Industrials, Services, Sustainability and Technology sectors. We work relentlessly to earn our clients’ trust by delivering insightful advice and outstanding outcomes. BDA Partners has strategic partnerships with William Blair, a premier global investment banking business, and with DBJ (Development Bank of Japan), a Japanese government-owned bank with US$150bn of assets.

US securities transactions are performed by BDA Partners’ affiliate, BDA Advisors Inc, a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). BDA Advisors Inc. is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and SIPC. In the UK, BDA Partners is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In Hong Kong, BDA Partners (HK) Ltd is licensed and regulated by the Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) to conduct Type 1 and Type 4 regulated activities to professional investors. www.bdapartners.com