The Link Together Initiatives, the flagship charity and community engagement project of Link has made a total donation of close to HK$47 million, targeting over 2.5 million beneficiaries since its inception in 2013. The donation includes the HK$9 million pledged this year to support youth empowerment, active aging and resource management, as well as help young people pursue their dreams through the Link First Generation University Student Scholarship. Entering its fifth year, the projects receiving support from Link Together Initiatives in the new funding year are: Cha Duk Chang Children’s Cantonese Opera Association’s “Three-in-One”; Music Children Foundation’s “Music for Everyone at Link”; HKGDA’s Guide Dogs Breeding & Education; Po Leung Kuk’s “Clown with Happy Express”; Food Angel’s “Love & Food Sharing” and Jane Goodall Institute Hong Kong’s “Green Community Builder”. Over 1.4 million people are expected to benefit from these projects. In advancing sustainable development in the communities Link operates, the Link Together Initiatives partners with NGOs to implement social projects that create value for people and the environment. “When the community does well, we do well. Since launching the Link Together Initiatives, we have been using our resources – our properties, staff and tenants – to connect and inspire communities, thereby creating positive social, economic and environmental value,” said Aubrey Ho, Link’s Director (Corporate Affairs & Marketing). Over the past four years, the Initiatives have supported 120 community projects, including the Guide Dog localisation programme, which recently won the 2017 Galaxy award for Corporate Social Responsibility. The Initiatives have received several reputable awards including the prestigious Albert Sussman International Community Support Award. Linking 370 students from grass-root families to university education Link established this non-means-tested scholarship in 2015 to promote upward social mobility among young people. Since then, Link has supported some 370 undergraduates who are the first university students among three generations in their families, with a total of $7.4M in donations. This year, the Programme has added 40 new scholarships for Link Scholarship alumni to continue their second or third year studies, on top of the scholarships for 100 year-one university students. The 140 awardees each receiving HK$20,000 for the Scholarship, were selected from over 200 schools in 18 districts, which fielded some 300 eligible students who took part in the Interview Day held last September.