Micron Technology announced several donations totalling over S$2.5 million from its Micron Foundation COVID19 Relief Fund to support Singapore communities. Funds will go toward addressing immediate and future needs of those affected by the health crisis, and include a commitment to local government initiatives and a collaboration with NUS to research potential treatments for the virus.
Pledging A Future
Joining the global effort to find a cure for the virus, the Micron Foundation has committed more than S$500,000 to help discover new treatment therapies. A research team from NUS has developed a pioneering platform known as IDentif.AI, which uses AI to identify the optimal combination and dosage of drugs that can be used as an interim treatment for COVID-19. The IDentif.AI platform could play a key role in finding effective drug combinations that combat the virus as it mutates.
Through Micron’s 2-to-1 employee donation matching program, Singapore team members have raised a total of S$1.88 million — almost doubling the initial target of S$1 million. In addition to cash donations, Micron’s unique program also allowed employees to exchange their paid annual leave for monetary donations to charities, which were also matched by Micron. The raised funds were distributed to five charities spanning a spectrum of beneficiaries, including children, older adults, differently abled people, and vulnerable families. The five chosen beneficiaries are Children’s Wishing Well, The Food Bank Singapore Ltd, Down Syndrome Association (Singapore), Daughters of Tomorrow, and Blossom Seeds.
Micron has a significant presence in the region and has participated in the Singapore Economic Development Board initiative to support Johor, Malaysia, front-line health care workers with a donation of more than S$14,000 to buy KN95 masks and hand sanitizers. Micron has pledged more than S$100,000 to The Invictus Fund set up by the National Council of Social Services (NCSS), which will support 450 local social service agencies under the NCSS umbrella. Micron also contributed 40,000 masks to three organizations benefiting older people, including Blossom Seeds, NTUC Health and Ace Senior.
Micron also continues to contribute to workforce requirements disrupted by COVID-19, such as the SGUnited Traineeship Program. As one of the key partners in the program, Micron will offer 200 positions to start in 2020 for new graduates from universities, polytechnics, and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) colleges.
All these initiatives build on the company’s earlier pledge to commit US$35 million globally, including a Micron Foundation relief fund of US$10 million to help those disproportionately affected by COVID-19. This pledged amount also includes increasing employee gift matching, introducing financial assistance for team members through grants, providing in-kind support by accelerating payments to small business suppliers, and donating facilities and supplies for emergency medical response.
