SSCL sets example for other foreign car dealers
Stuttgart Sports Cars Ltd. (SSCL), the largest Porsche dealer in Korea, has set an example for other foreign car dealers by implementing social programs to support the disabled and the underprivileged, and nurture young talent.
Marking its 12th anniversary this year, SSCL has stepped up efforts to expand its social contribution campaign to share growth with local communities and become a more responsible corporate citizen.
Founded in 2005, the Porsche dealership, which operates six showrooms and four workshops across the country, has introduced a range of corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects based on its long-term growth vision.
“Providing practical support to those who really need it is important. So we help the disabled and students from low-income families,” SSCL CEO Graeme Hunter said. “SSCL has grown into a major car dealership thanks to the trust and love of our Korean customers. We would like to give more back to local communities and be a more trusted community member.”
On May 22, the company donated 120 million won ($107,000) to the Seoul Association of Welfare Institutions for the Disabled to finance the “Engine Your Dream” project. The program is a daily-life based project that motivates disabled people to recover physical abilities and rehabilitate through Lego.
In April last year, SSCL formed a partnership with the charity and donated 50 million won to help improve the physical rehabilitation of disabled children and adults.
The contests were held for disabled children to produce creative work using Lego or other materials, and offered prizes to winners. It donated the Lego creations to 44 welfare facilities housing disabled children in Seoul. This year, SSCL plans to do more. In addition to Lego, it will provide other props such as puzzles and clay to more effectively facilitate fine motor skills and cognitive development.
The company will also set up an advisory group, comprising of block education and rehabilitation experts, to more effectively rehabilitate the mentally challenged. It plans to measure their fine motor skills and cognitive development in a more systematic manner to draw up individually specific aid.
“Through the enhanced social contribution program, SSCL will make the utmost effort to improve the disabled people’s quality of life in cooperation with the Seoul Metropolitan Government,” Hunter said. “We will continue to expand this meaningful project to cover more disabled adults and students in Seoul and the surrounding areas.”
In addition, the dealership has been conducting the “Making a Warm Local Community” project with the non-profit organization Purennanum. It aims to improve the livelihoods of the underprivileged by helping them successfully settle in their respective communities.
SSCL has been providing hands-on support for the homeless, senior citizens living alone and others in need through employees’ volunteer activities.
In 2016, the workers delivered daily necessities to more than 220 elderly residents near Seoul Station.
They also painted bees, flowers and other objects on the walls of old houses in poor neighborhoods to brighten the residential atmosphere.