PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards continues long CSR history with Right To Play and the Mini Heart Project

The event’s official charity partner aims to foster Thailand’s young talents and will organise a joint CSR initiative at the end of 2019

BANGKOK, Thailand ­­–– 13 June 2019

PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards, the long-running and most prestigious real estate awards programme in the kingdom, is proud to announce that Right To Play is the Official Charity Partner 2019 for the awards programme’s 14th annual edition.

Right To Play is a global organisation that uses the transformative power of sports and play-based activities to protect, educate and empower children facing adversity. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, the organisation was formed in 2000 by four-time Olympic gold medalist and social entrepreneur Johann Olav Koss. Internationally, it helps children in more than 20 countries, including Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and through its regional offices in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America.

Led in Thailand by programme director and (acting) country director, Kevina Maddick, Right To Play’s values are aligned in championing social change and encouraging property developers to grow their corporate and social responsibilities, whilst fostering and inspiring the talent of young people in Thailand. The foundation operates in more than 20 locations across Thailand, helping more than 50,000 children and youth from diverse backgrounds, including children with disabilities, children in temporary shelters and migrant children.

“Through this partnership, Right To Play would like to encourage property developers in Thailand to grow their corporate and social responsibilities, not just in the areas where they are developing properties but to take a holistic view of how they can improve the lives of larger communities; be it their workers, surrounding communities or in contributing to fostering and inspiring the talent of young people in Thailand. Through the platform of the PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards, we want to recognise developers with a social conscience,” Maddick said.

The partnership was announced at an exclusive press roundtable session joined by Emma Gray, events marketing head of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards; Kamolpat Swaengkit, country manager of DDproperty, Thailand’s leading property site and Official Property Portal of the Awards; and Niamh De Loughry, Asia Director, Right To Play.

Launched in late 2005 to honour the finest projects and innovations of real estate professionals in the kingdom, the prestigious PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards has had a long history of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and philanthropic initiatives through partnerships with:

• Children of the Forest (2006) — At the inaugural Thailand Property Awards gala dinner in 2006, an auction and donation campaign was organised, raising THB500,000 from guests. Auctioned items included two nights at The Nam Hai in Vietnam, two nights in a Banyan Tree Pool Villa in Phuket and a luxury day cruise in Krabi provided by Maan Tawan Cruises.

• Mercy Centre (2007) — Thailand Property Awards organisers, led by awards founder Terry Blackburn, held a charity auction at the 2007 gala dinner with all the proceeds going towards building a school for orphans at the Mercy Centre.

• Habitat for Humanity (2011) — Habitat for Humanity Thailand collected contributions to the flood recovery effort for Bangkok and surrounding areas, in cooperation with 2011 title sponsor Thanachart Bank, raising THB400,000 for the construction of two new houses for flood victims in Lopburi.

• CARE (2016) and Raks Thai Foundation (2018) — After teaming up in 2016 with CARE, a UK-headquartered charity, the PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards partnered again with CARE’s local counterpart Raks Thai Foundation to present the ‘Raks Thai Special Recognition for Community Projects Award’ to a developer that has used its resources and personnel to organise uplifting projects to improve local communities.

• Right To Play (2019) — As the Official Charity Partner of the 14th PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards, Right To Play will jointly organise a year-end donation campaign and philanthropic activity to benefit children and communities that are in need of bathroom and grooming amenities, in line with the Mini Heart Project initiated by Asia Property Awards’ Emma Gray.

The 14th PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards 2019 is supported by platinum sponsor Hitachi Elevators & Escalators; gold sponsors Kudos and JLL; official airline partner THAI Airways; official portal partner DDproperty, Thailand’s leading property site; official charity partner Right To Play; official magazine PropertyGuru Property Report; media partners Engineering Today, GM Live, Luxury Society Asia, Terra BKK, The Bangkok Insight, The Phuket News, The Standard; and official supervisor BDO.

For more information, email [email protected] or visit AsiaPropertyAwards.com.