Schon Properties, a private real estate developer in the UAE, and Al-Hamad Group of Companies, a construction group, jointly organized an iftar for 700 laborers working on construction of their joint venture, iSuites — a cluster of 2,550 branded hotel apartments project, with a development value exceeding 3.2 billion dirhams ($870 million).
This initiative is part of the companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs as they both strengthen their CSR outreach in line with the spirit of the Year of Giving and the UAE government’s vision.
The iftar dinner program was held at the Al-Hamad Labour Camp — where the laborers converged after a day’s hard work to break their fast.
Danial Schon, president of Schon Properties, attended the iftar joined by senior managers of both organizations. He said: “As an organization that believes in caring and sharing, corporate social responsibility remains an essential part of Schon Properties’ DNA — long before CSR became a corporate slogan in the region.
“Breaking the fast, as a team, corporate managers and workers, we pay homage to the sharing spirit of the holy month of Ramadan.”
Schon Properties’ iftar to feed laborers comes a few days after the UAE government announced steps to encourage the private sector to promote CSR activities as part of the Year of Giving campaign. Private companies are now required to make budgetary provisions for up to 500,000 dirhams for CSR activities per year.
“It is no surprise to us, that under the guidance of Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the UAE government has complemented the happiness initiative by introducing serious guidelines to boost the CSR culture and investment within private sector companies. This ethos of giving back to society has always been one we hold dear at Schon Properties,” Schon said.
Nashat Sahawneh, chairman of Al-Hamad Group of Companies, said: “Our CSR initiative to share iftar with laborers comes from our hearts and is part of our culture of giving.
“It is their hard work that helps us build projects and offer a great living experience to home owners across the UAE.”

Source: Arab News