On Wednesday, 20th March, 2024 at the Educational Technology for the Blind Center, part of the Foundation for the Blind in Thailand under the Royal patronage of H.M. the Queen, Mr. Daniel Ross, Chief Investment Officer and Head of Sustainability of BTS Group, and Ms. Narissara Srisunt, Strategic Communication Advisor of BTS Group, accompanied by Mr. Sumit Srisantithum, Chief Operating Officer of Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Limited, led employee volunteers in the donation of over 20,000 old desktop calendars, as part of the Company’s “Heroes Give” campaign. These donated calendars were the result of a collective effort by the employees of BTS Group and its subsidiaries along with the inaugural participation of the public through donation boxes placed along various BTS stations. In addition, the campaign successfully gathered a total of THB 786,450 in financial aid, a joint contribution between BTS Group and its passengers, to finance the Centre’s purchase of its equipment to develop the production of Braille books. The donation made to the Educational Technology for the Blind was received by Ms. Chanidapa Petruk, the Director of the Educational Technology for the Blind Center.
Mr. Ross elaborated that the annual desktop calendar donation to support Braille education has been a longstanding effort as part of the Group’s strategic CSR direction to support quality education for all accompanied with the aim to encourage the reduction of waste to drive society towards a circular economy. This year, alongside the donation, the Group participated in recording story books for visually impaired children and took part in the production through the binding of Braille books with donated calendars. This effort was geared towards supporting the development of Braille education for the blind community in Thailand.
Mr. Srisantithum expressed gratitude for the Group’s involvement in supporting the Educational Technology for the Blind Centre in aiding the development of quality education for the 180,000 blind population in Thailand . With the Foundation’s current Braille printer in use for 47 years, the financial aid provided aims to facilitate equipment purchases for continuous production and cost reduction. This includes the acquisition of color document copiers, multifunction systems for four-color covers, book scanners, electric paper cutters, and semi-automatic hardcover machines. Through this investment, the campaign contributes to the Foundation’s mission to ensure nationwide availability of Braille learning materials for visually impaired individuals in Thailand.
