HSBC’s 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 co-ordinate several new and on-going projects in the home, many of which are funded by the HSBC Cares For Children Fund. He will also be assisting the Director of the Home, to take a holistic approach to the caring programme of the children in the Home.

This is the second time that HSBC is seconding a Senior HR manager to help those in need within the community. In August 2002, Philip Borg was seconded to the Kerygma Movement, also for a period of three years. As part of this new secondment, Mr Lewis will also be appointed to the HSBC Cares For Children Fund committee, where his experience will be used by the Fund to pinpoint areas where assistance might 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. 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. I am sure his skills and experience will be of great benefit to the home’s administrators and, more importantly, the children,” said HSBC’s chief executive, Shaun Wallis 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 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. I am very much looking forward to this opportunity as I firmly believe, as does HSBC, that assistance through physical involvement is equally important, if not more so, than financial assistance,” said Mr Lewis.

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.