HSBC deputy head of Human Resources Dominic Lewis has been seconded to St Joseph Children’s Home in Santa Venera.
During his three year secondment, Mr Lewis will coordinate several new and on-going projects at the home, many of which are funded by the HSBC Cares For Children Fund. He will also be assisting the home’s director to bring a holistic approach to the caring programme of the children in the home.
This is the second time that HSBC is assigning a senior HR manager to help those in need in the community. In August 2002, Philip Borg was seconded to the Kerygma Move-ment, also for three years. As part of this new secondment, Mr Lewis will also be appointed to the HSBC Cares For Children Fund committee, where his experiences will be used by the Fund to pinpoint areas where assistance may be required.
“Over the past five years, HSBC has invested in excess of Lm300,000 in community projects, mostly through its HSBC Cares For Children Fund. Apart from the financial contributions, the fund’s success has also been based on the great support we get from HSBC staff members, who work tirelessly to help children in need,” said HSBC CEO Shaun Wallace.
“In 2002, the bank also took the unprecedented step for a Maltese company and seconded a senior manager to Kerygma. Today we are repeating this successful initiative by seconding Dominic to St Joseph Home,” he said.
“ I am sure his skills and experience will be of great benefit to the home’s administrators and, more importantly, the children,” he concluded, during a visit to St Joseph Home to officially announce the secondment.
Mr Lewis has a wealth of experience in the human resources sector with HSBC and in 2002 won the Human Resources Practitioner of the Year Award, given by the Foundation For Human Resources Development, for excellence in human resources management and development.
“Dealing with people and trying to find ways to make their lives more rewarding is something that I have been doing all of my professional life. Now, I will have to adapt these skills and apply them to the challenging task of assisting the youngsters who are resident at St Joseph Home,” said Mr Lewis.
He continued: “I am very much looking forwarding to taking up this opportunity as I firmly believe, as does HSBC, that assistance through physical involvement is equally important, if not more so, than financial assistance.”
During his visit to St Joseph Home, Mr Wallis also presented a Lm500 donation from the HSBC Cares For Children Fund, as a first instalment towards the setting up of a new computer room for the boys resident at the home.