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125,000 hours. That’s what QI Group employees have collectively volunteered since 2013. It’s a number that spans tree planting in Malaysia, literacy programs in sub-Saharan Africa, and community expeditions in Hong Kong. For a company with roughly 2,000 employees in offices across 30 countries, it works out to be something close to an institutional habit.
QI Group is a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Hong Kong, founded in 1998. Its philanthropic arm, RYTHM Foundation, takes its name from an acronym, Raise Yourself To Help Mankind, that is drawn from the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi and is central to the company’s corporate culture.
The foundation was incorporated in 2005 and operates across education, community development, women’s empowerment, and environmental programs worldwide. Its work ranges from a special needs school in Malaysia to green agriculture projects in rural Indonesia.
Built Into the Job Description
Most corporate volunteer programs operate at the margins: an annual day of service, a charity drive come December. QI Group built something structurally different.
Since 2013, its Employee Community Impact (ECI) program has asked every employee to dedicate at least 12 hours per year to community causes. The cumulative result: thousands of volunteer hours logged across more than 20 countries.
The company’s Staff Social Responsibility (SSR) program is formally incorporated into annual performance appraisals, a design choice that signals to employees from day one that community service is part of the job, not an afterthought. For a company with over 2,000 employees spread across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and beyond, that institutional signal has a wide reach.
Teaching Volunteerism
In 2023, RYTHM Foundation launched the Volunteer Development Programme (VDP). Targeting young people, including university student leaders, the program pairs formal training and coaching with hands-on placements in RYTHM-led community projects.
The first cohort included 48 participants and ran for roughly six months. According to RYTHM Foundation’s February 2024 programme recap, volunteers contributed more than 1,162 hours across 197 volunteering sessions, completed four fundraising projects, and raised RM4,289.50 for charitable causes.
The programme’s second cohort expanded both in scope and depth. Running from April through December 2025, VDP Cohort 2 formally recognized 30 volunteers working within the same mentor-mentee framework. To complete the full program, participants were required to attend three training sessions, log at least 12 volunteer hours, engage in follow-up activities after each training session, and deliver a community group project. Eight volunteers completed all requirements and received the Outstanding Performance Award; five others surpassed the mandatory hours, with some contributing more than 100 hours of service.
Cohort 2 volunteers engaged with 62 organisations across Malaysia, working on education, environmental action, youth empowerment, animal welfare, and health and wellbeing initiatives. Collectively, they logged 1,744.75 volunteer hours — a 50% increase over the first cohort.
Maizato Akuma, an indigenous Orang Asli volunteer, described the experience as transformative. “Before joining the VDP, I was not deeply involved in volunteering,” she said. “Through the training sessions, I gained confidence and developed leadership skills that I never realised I could acquire through volunteering.” She noted a desire to extend that impact within her own community: “I hope to create opportunities that support my community and build a system that encourages more people to connect, contribute, and make a positive impact together.”
Another volunteer, Rajes, reflected on a flood relief mission in Indonesia, explaining that “helping communities affected by the disaster and working alongside volunteers from different backgrounds showed me the real impact of volunteerism beyond borders”
QI Group’s 10% Decision
Early in QI Group’s history, its board committed to directing 10% of revenues toward causes in the communities where it operates. That commitment eventually formalized into RYTHM Foundation, incorporated in 2005.
Since then, the foundation has reached over 1 million beneficiaries in more than 15 countries, implemented over 115 projects, and partnered with more than 145 global organizations.
In 2025, RYTHM Foundation reported outcomes across education, youth development, indigenous empowerment, and community support. In its year-end 2025 impact update, the foundation said its North Bengal Literacy and Numeracy Programme enrolled 1,147 students (with 1,012 maintaining regular attendance), its Nepal education programme supported 678 students each day, and 80% of 172 children in its Chepang community initiative transitioned into formal schooling. It reported that 35 volunteers in its Volunteer Development Programme contributed 1,094 hours with an 85.7% retention rate, while its Safer Cities for Girls programme engaged 2,030 adolescents and reached more than 55,600 people through community outreach.
Two newer programs illustrate the foundation’s breadth. In Kedah, a three-year Community Adoption Program launched in 2024 is building ecotourism capacity among Kensiu indigenous youth, teaching hospitality, tour guiding, and conservation skills. In Indonesia, a Green Skills Project is training 200 young farmers, 60% of them women, in climate-smart agriculture across six villages and ten farmer collectives.
The foundation’s work extends beyond volunteerism into direct institution-building. Taarana School, opened in 2011 in Petaling Jaya, is a RYTHM Foundation-funded special needs school serving approximately 50 children between ages 3 and 16 — many on the autism spectrum or living with developmental delays. It won Best Special Education Centre of the Year at the PEEAM EduAwards in 2024.
At its most recent Annual Day, Datin Seri Umayal Eswaran told the assembled crowd: “When we first imagined establishing Taarana under this foundation, our dream was simple: to create a place where children with special needs feel accepted, supported and confident to reach their full potential.”
Ultimately, what distinguishes QI Group’s model is less the volume of activity than the architecture behind it: service requirements written into performance reviews, a foundation capitalized from revenue rather than surplus, and a training program designed to produce volunteers rather than just recruit them.
Also read: 3 Questions to Kickstart your CSR Strategy
Image source: QI Group
