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Around 7,000 school children in need of support for meals

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Around 7,000 school children in need of support for meals

John Doe

A four-week ‘circuit breaker’ is the latest challenge to hit Singapore, as a pre-emptive strategy to curb the spread of COVID-19. As students transition to over three weeks of learning at home, about 7,000 children will miss access to food they would normally get in school, compounding difficulties in continuing their education at home.

As mentioned in Parliament by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Mr Heng Swee Keat on 7 April 2020, CFS today bolstered efforts to generate support for the Sayang Sayang Fund (SSF). Donations to this fund will complement the work of local public health, non-profit and government entities with emergency support.

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CFS now seeks another $3 million for the SSF, to meet evolving and urgent needs of the community. This includes the launch of Recess@Home, a meal programme that will provide disadvantaged students with support for their meals and ensure that children do not go hungry.

Speaking on the SSF, Chief Executive Officer of the Community Foundation of Singapore, Ms Catherine Loh shared, “During these tough times, we hope that the Sayang Sayang Fund will be able to provide immediate and longer-term support not just for the frontline workers but also the vulnerable groups like low-income families and elderly. With programmes such as Recess@Home, we want to help the children whose families are already dealing with many other difficulties due to the COVID-19 crisis. The Community Foundation of Singapore and the Sayang Sayang Fund remain sensitive to the needs of the community and we urge everyone to rally together to overcome this challenging period.”

CFS raised $1.1 million earlier after the launch of SSF in February. However, the increasing severity of the COVID-19 situation and more adverse impact on the economy and society have seen a surge in the demand for charity services.

Donors wishing to donate can do so via PayNow or visit our SSF campaign at giving.sg. Should you require any assistance or if you would like to set up your personal giving campaign in support of the SSF, please visit https://www.cf.org.sg/ or contact us at contactus@cf.org.sg.

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John Doe

The competition was organised by City Harvest Community Services Association and received support from FUN! Fund, a Community Impact Fund jointly established by the Community Foundation of Singapore and the Agency for Integrated Care, with the aim of addressing social isolation among the elderly.

Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of National Development Mr Tan Kiat How attended the event. He encouraged the elderly to stay physically and mentally well, as well as urging them to participate in community activities and enjoy their golden years together.

Learn more about FUN! Fund at https://www.cf.org.sg/fun-fund/.

The programme provides the children with a non-threatening platform to connect with peers and have positive conversations. In addition, it exposes them to different people who can assist to broaden their perspectives.
L.S., a volunteer with the Reading Odyssey programme @ Spooner Road

中心“常胜将军”胡锦盛：比赛限时反应要快

现年92岁的胡锦盛是最年长的参赛者。自2017年退休后，他几乎每天都到活跃乐龄中心报到，从此爱上了玩拉密，每次可玩上三个小时，在中心是“常胜将军”。

Related Topics For You: ACCESSING QUALITY EDUCATION, CHARITY STORIES, CHILDREN, COMMUNITY IMPACT FUND, DIRECT AID, DONOR STORIES, FAMILIES, INCLUSIVITY & INTEGRATION, NEWS, SAYANG SAYANG FUND, SENIORS, STORIES OF IMPACT, YOUTH

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CFS Chairperson receives National Award for COVID-19 – The Public Service Medal

John Doe

The Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) is honoured to announce that our Chairperson, Ms. Christine Ong, has received the National Awards (COVID-19) under the category of The Public Service Medal (COVID-19). This award recognises the Chairperson’s leadership and CFS’s efforts to serve the Singapore community during the pandemic.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, CFS has provided assistance to those in need through the distribution of grants to individuals and organisations. Under Christine’s direction, CFS disbursed a total of $57 million from March 2020 to December 2022, with $32 million going to the social & welfare and health sectors.

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One of our key initiatives was the Sayang Sayang Fund. Established in February 2020 as an emergency response fund to support frontline healthcare workers, the Sayang Sayang Fund expanded its support to a range of vulnerable groups and launched nine initiatives. With the help of 891 grantee organizations, CFS delivered resources and support to nearly 400,000 beneficiaries with the $9.6 million raised from multiple platforms, including a successful campaign on Giving.sg that collected $1 million in public donations. The Sayang Sayang Fund continued to introduce new initiatives in 2021 to support ground-up groups and the community health sector in Singapore.

Thanks to Christine and the Board, CFS has become a leading grant-maker in the country during a time of increased community needs. The CFS team has risen to the challenge, working together to address complex issues exacerbated by the pandemic. This award recognizes the collective effort and represents a proud moment for everyone at CFS.

CFS remains committed to excellence and will continue to strive for greater impact in serving the community. Further information on the National Awards (COVID-19) and the recipients is available here.

Related Topics For You: ACCESSING QUALITY EDUCATION, CHARITY STORIES, CHILDREN, COMMUNITY IMPACT FUND, DIRECT AID, DONOR STORIES, FAMILIES, INCLUSIVITY & INTEGRATION, NEWS, SAYANG SAYANG FUND, SENIORS, STORIES OF IMPACT, YOUTH

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The Peak Singapore: How responsible businesses can make their philanthropic dollars travel further

John Doe

While more companies are heeding the call to give back to the community, selecting a worthy cause and monitoring the use of donations may be a complex task. That’s where the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) comes in. It helps corporations develop a long-term philanthropy strategy, find suitable charity partners, and track the outcome of donations.

“We help donors go beyond what they can do on their own, and identify charity partners who can provide accountability,” says Catherine Loh, CEO of CFS.

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One way of creating greater impact is to look at fresh ways of addressing community needs, suggests Loh. Take UBS’ Diversity in Abilities arts education programme, which aims to develop the talents of children and youth with special needs. After attending the programme, participants are able to concentrate better and have an overall improvement in the pace of learning. Such potentially beneficial initiatives can be made possible only by corporations that have a higher appetite for risk and are willing to support them, says Loh.

In terms of managing charitable dollars, both donor and recipient must agree on how the money will be used, the duration of the funding and the kind/depth of reporting required, Loh says. More importantly, she adds, companies should adopt the mindset of a partner and view philanthropy as a “learning journey”.

“Just like any business project, things can go wrong. Sometimes, it could be a misreading of community needs, or there could be physical or manpower constraints faced by the charity. We hope to take corporates on a philanthropic journey, to help them gain insight into what it takes to make a meaningful change.” Read more.

Related Topics For You: ACCESSING QUALITY EDUCATION, CHARITY STORIES, CHILDREN, COMMUNITY IMPACT FUND, DIRECT AID, DONOR STORIES, FAMILIES, INCLUSIVITY & INTEGRATION, NEWS, SAYANG SAYANG FUND, SENIORS, STORIES OF IMPACT, YOUTH

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Stories Of Impact

2021 Annabel Pennefather Award winners Cheung Kemei and Jaslyn Hooi: Two talented athletes steadfast in their resolve to win honour and glory for Singapore

John Doe

As Singapore continues to field excellent sportsmen into the international arena such as Badminton World Federation world champion shuttler Loh Kean Yew and paralympic gold medallist Yip Pin Siu, the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) recognises the need to continue supporting the growth of more sporting talent through philanthropy, so that Singapore may continue to produce many more distinguished sportsmen and women for the years to come.

The Annabel Pennefather Excellence Award is one such enabler that helps young sports women reach greater heights and bring glory to our country.

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It is presented annually to two female graduating student-athletes between 16 and 25 years of age, who have displayed remarkable dedication to their sporting craft and achieved outstanding results in sports.

Funded by the International Women’s Forum Singapore’s Education Grant, which is managed by CFS, the Grant aims to recognise deserving young women with character and the commitment to achieve in their respective fields.

The Award honours the late Annabel Pennefather – a former national hockey player, a pioneer of women sports administrators in Singapore and a champion of women in sports globally – and celebrates her achievements through encouraging and empowering women in the field of sports.

This year, the Award winners of the 2021 Annabel Pennefather Excellence Award are Cheung Kemei and Jaslyn Hooi, two young women who have demonstrated exceptional skill and excellence in their respective sporting fields.

At the tender age of only 16, foilist Cheung Kemei has already acquired a number of accolades under her fencing belt, having had an outstanding year at local national and age-group competitions last year in spite of the swelling pandemic.

“I feel very happy and honoured to receive this award. I’m very grateful and would like to thank the school, coaches and everyone who supported me throughout this journey. This award definitely encourages and motivates me to work harder and achieve better results for Singapore,” says the talented young fencer.

The foilist punched above her weight to win a gold at the Singapore Senior Championships last year in February, and won another gold medal for the U17 Women’s Foil Individual at the Singapore Cadet Nationals.

Though there is a long list of contenders for coveted spots, Kemei has her eyes set on making it to the final list of competitors for the upcoming SEA Games this year.

The other Award winner, 21-year-old shuttler Jaslyn Hooi, first represented Singapore at the Youth Olympic Games in 2018 in Buenos Aires where she finished 4th in the Women’s Singles. Since then, Jaslyn has participated and won a bronze at the 2019 SEA Games, and is set to take on the region’s best at the SEA Games this year.

“2021 proved to be a successful year, especially towards the end of the year, where I competed for six weeks in Europe. I managed to get gold in one of them and improved my world ranking to be top ninety in the world,” reflects Jaslyn with pride.

In September 2021, she claimed the Women’s Singles title at the Polish International, making it the best win in her career thus far. Among one of the top local shuttlers, Jaslyn won the Women’s Singles title at the Singapore National Open Championships consecutively in 2020 and 2021.

“I’m extremely honoured to be receiving this award. It’s nice to know that Sports School is still supporting us on our sporting journey and recognising our hardwork and success. My goal is to be top fifty at the end of 2022, and this award will continue to push me towards that goal,” says the ambitious young shuttler.

She aspires to play well in bigger tournaments this year and to make it to the Top 80. Her ultimate goal is to make it to the 2024 Olympic Games, and is determined to give her best effort to make her dream come true.

If you would like to support more budding sporting talent in Singapore through philanthropy, please read more here.