The Edge Education Foundation
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
The Edge Education Foundation (TEEF) is the philanthropic arm of The Edge Media Group. It seeks to promote social and economic inclusion through its work and programmes. TEEF focuses on education because education is key to breaking the cycle of poverty.
Funds raised through The Edge Kuala Lumpur Rat Race go towards programmes run by NGOs and non-profits that also contribute towards social and economic inclusion. In 2014, the first year that The Edge decided to run the Rat Race on its own after a long partnership with Bursa Malaysia, TEEF disbursed half of the funds raised to 12 beneficiaries for projects or programmes related to education and skills development of disabled and disadvantaged children, youths and adults. The remaining portion was channelled to the foundation for programmes in the area of English proficiency and financial literacy.
Since 2014, about 70% of funds raised have gone to successful applicants who are chosen through a vetting and selection process that requires them to submit detailed project proposals, audited financial statements and other supporting documents. The balance went towards supporting the foundation's programmes.
TEEF itself promotes two main initiatives in the field of education - English proficiency and financial literacy. Our target audience is youths, particularly those in secondary school. Helping young people to improve their proficiency in English and equipping them to be financially literate will enable them to develop the capacity and confidence they need to improve their own situations and prospects.
Past programmes to improve English proficiency include after-school English classes in 2014 to help students from lower-income homes prepare for the Form 3 Assessment or Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3 (PT3) English examination.
TEEF's current programmes that seek to improve students' financial literacy and English proficiency are the "Money & Me: Youth Financial Empowerment Programme" and the "Newspapers-in-Education" programme.
Money & Me is the Foundation's flagship programme in the area of financial literacy. It is a free financial literacy programme designed by TEEF with the support of Citi Foundation. Its target audience is Form 4 students, especially those from B40 homes. Money & Me is approved as a co-curricular programme for schools by the Ministry of Education. The programme was rolled out in March 2016 at five schools in Kuala Lumpur in collaboration with partners from the private sector and academia. The programme is currently running in more than 10 schools in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
Money & Me has two objectives: (1) To equip youths with financial literacy as a basic life skill; and (2) To equip low- and lower-middle income youths with basic entrepreneurship skills to help them improve their economic prospects, in particular through setting up small businesses. The programme addresses the growing concerns about debt, insolvency and unemployment among young Malaysians.
An out-of-school financial literacy programme based partly on Money & Me and developed in partnership with a local NGO in 2017 is being used for youths at the Puncak Alam Correctional Centre (formerly Sekolah Integriti Kajang at Kajang Prison). TEEF is working to expand the programme to more out-of-school and at-risk youths in the near future.
Under the Newspapers-in-Education programme, the foundation sponsors limited copies of The Edge for a few schools in the Klang Valley. Newspapers are an under-utilised resource that, if used consistently and creatively, can contribute to the development of 21st century learning and thinking skills. Schools in TEEF's NIE programme use The Edge to help students improve their English proficiency and also expose them to business and entrepreneurship. The newspapers also benefit the students by offering activities that develop research skills, encourage them to be creative and analytical and enable them to learn the language in an authentic setting through elements such as articles, pictures and even advertisements.
Rat Race funds also help to support a scholarship programme for disadvantaged and low-income students pursuing tertiary studies in universities in Malaysia and enable them to achieve their aspirations.
ALL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EDGE EDUCATION FOUNDATION ARE TAX-EXEMPT (LHDN.01/35/42/51/179-6.6346)
Rat Race 2014 Beneficiaries
Persatuan Berdikari Seremban Negeri Sembilan
PBSNS provides job skills training to individuals with disabilities, such as ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down’s Syndrome and dyslexia, as well as slow learners. The centre provides training in straw packing, arts and crafts, bakery and culinary and hospitality skills. Trainees also run the in-house Chedang Café where they learn food preparation, hospitality and food-serving skills. PBSNS has trained close to 100 individuals with special needs and some have since found jobs with disabled-friendly businesses in Seremban. Using Rat Race 2014 funds, PBSNS was able to employ a full-time training assistant to closely monitor and train the trainees currently in open/supported employment.
Badan Latihan dan Hidup Berdikari Malaysia (Independent Living & Training Centre Malaysia)
ILTC helps those with spinal cord injury enhance their quality of life and lead productive lives by providing a proper platform for treatment and rehabilitation and by teaching technical and vocational skills such as sewing and ICT. In addition to capacity building, it also works on building self-esteem so as to enable the disabled to earn an income with dignity and live independently. Since 2001, it has helped some 130 disabled members enter the workforce and gain meaningful employment.
Persatuan Kebajikan Sri Eden Selangor dan Kuala Lumpur
Sri Eden runs a centre in Cheras dedicated to training children with disabilities, such as ADHD, autism, Down’s Syndrome, dyslexia and dyspraxia, to achieve their highest potential. It provides therapy to help the children overcome their conditions and become more focused, thus improving their learning capabilities. Sri Eden serves almost 80 children aged between 3 and 19. With therapy, some of the children have succeeded in enrolling in special classes in regular schools.
St Nicholas Home, Penang
St Nicholas Home caters for between 100 and 120 blind and visually impaired residents, trainees and clients aged between 3 and 77 irrespective of race, religion and background. The home used Rat Race 2014 funds to develop an online platform that will provide study materials for free to vision-impaired students to enable them to raise their academic achievement and compete for places in tertiary institutions. The Home is focusing initially on building resources for upper secondary students, that is, Forms 3, 4 and 5. Ultimately, it plans to cater to students from Preschool 1 all the way up to Upper Six and, possibly, tertiary level.
Pertubuhan Komuniti Harap Kuantan, Pahang
Harap’s Goodtime English programme is a creative, fun and practical language learning programme for the underprivileged. By April, Harap expects to increase the number of children and working adults taking advantage of its free English programme to 140, including 120 children from three orphanages in Kuantan. Harap is working towards opening a child development centre in Bukit Setongkol where it will offer free Goodtime English lessons and soft skills classes for underprivileged children.
Montfort Boys Town, Shah Alam
Since its inception in 1957, Montfort has equipped some 7,000 school dropouts from low-income families with life skills for a better future. Montfort opened its doors to girls in 2002. Rat Race 2014 funds enabled Montfort to upgrade its Graphic Design & Multimedia syllabus by introducing the Multimedia Artist – Animator Level 2 course and expand job opportunities for its students.