Stories Of Impact
KidsExcel – Leaving no child behind
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Stories Of Impact

Stories Of Impact

KidsExcel – Leaving no child behind

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At a time when after school tuition and enrichment programmes have become the new norm, children from less affluent backgrounds are increasingly disadvantaged by their inability to afford these lessons. This creates an educational landscape that places each child at different starting points by virtue of their socio-economic backgrounds.

KidsExcel is a values-driven, academic and sports enrichment programme that aims to support schools and parents in providing a holistic education for kids. Its mission is to provide a holistic, well-rounded programme that develops healthy minds, healthy bodies and strong character, using sports and academic enrichment to nurture the physical, intellectual and social skills of children.

“KidsExcel seeks to address the prevailing asymmetry in educational opportunities for underprivileged children. The programme aims to develop these children holistically through a structured integration of sports and drama with academic enrichment,” said Victor Pok, Director of Vivakids which runs the programme.

By providing primary school students under the Ministry of Education (MOE)’s Financial Assistance Scheme access to a year-long enrichment programme, KidsExcel hopes to inculcate in students an intrinsic motivation to excel, which will hopefully follow them through their lives.

At a recent site visit to Fuhua Primary School – one of KidsExcel’s school partners – the Community Foundation Singapore (CFS) and its donors bore witness to the work they do. Each week, students spend three hours on academic enrichment and an additional three hours on sports as an added incentive for them to turn up for classes.

At the after school programme, students learn through interactive and engaging lessons that provide effective development opportunities. Math classes saw students engaging in friendly competition to solve problem sums flashed out by their teacher. Speech and drama lessons visibly instilled in them a sense of confidence. Frequent proficiency testing also helped facilitate differentiated lesson plans to suit the varied capabilities of students.

While the sports component was conceived to encourage students’ attendance, it plays a pivotal role in developing them holistically. A range of carefully designed and modified games provides opportunities for the students to learn values – such as teamwork and self-confidence – that are beneficial for their intrinsic development.

And the overall results are encouraging. The programme at Fuhua has seen full attendance since its inception. Through timely and consistent tracking of exam results, statistics from KidsExcel’s school partnerships reflect overall improvements in students’ literacy and numeracy levels.

In a spirited sharing of the school’s experience, Fuhua’s co-ordinating teacher-in-charge praised it as an affordable programme that provides sustainable value-add to students. “I have seen an improvement in many of the students and they really enjoy the time they spend with their friends during the programme. Many of them often come to my office just to ask me if the programme is on this week, the following week, or even in the following year. It really speaks to how the programme has given them something constructive to look forward to. Otherwise they will probably be doing nothing at home or gallivanting at the malls.”

“The support of CFS and its donors has been crucial in realising our aims, providing the platform to engage even more in the future.” said Victor.

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Opinion

Creating social impact through philanthropy

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Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has likely changed your life on a daily basis. Though the pandemic has affected everyone, it hasn’t done so equally – the situations of the most vulnerable groups have been severely aggravated and awareness of our society’s fault lines and underserved needs have been heightened. But, if this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the tremendous power of common people working together to achieve a unified goal.  

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Stories Of Impact

#MyGivingJourney x Year of Celebrating SG Women

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One of the biggest myths about philanthropy is that you need millions of dollars to give back. At CFS, we strongly believe that everyone can leave a charitable legacy. Everyone can make a difference. Everyone can donate to the causes close to their hearts.  

Because giving comes in many ways. 

With 2021 being the Year of Celebrating SG Women, CFS would like to share the giving journeys of women who are touching lives with their generous spirit. Some started giving back early in life, others later. Some are in a position to make a big-ticket donation or pull together a fundraiser. Others lend their skills, talents or energy.  

Some volunteer actively with their hands and feet, helping at-risk youths or the old and frail. Some have crafted a career in the world of social services. Some are millennials, others are well, let’s say ageless.  

CFS talks to these women to find out what motivates them to give back, the causes they champion and how their giving journeys have uplifted and given back to them in ways they never expected.  

We hope their stories also showcase how Singaporean women are revolutionising philanthropy. And that you will be as inspired by them as we are. 

Read more about their inspiring stories:  

Begin your own journey of giving with CFS.   

Learn more about how to get started here. 

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News

LIFT (Learning Initiatives for Employment) Community Impact Fund – Training and increasing employability for marginalised groups

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The Learning Initiatives for Employment (LIFT) Community Impact Fund (CIF) from the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) provides social enterprise funding to enable disadvantaged groups to obtain training in order to be more employable. 

The funding provided has allowed two social enterprises, the Bettr Barista Coffee Academy and Dignity Kitchen develop a more standardised training programme for their students, as well as expand the number of training places available to aid more disadvantaged groups to enter the workforce.

Both social enterprises were covered in the story, along with the experiences of a beneficiary that had benefited from the programme. It was reported that the two enterprises had provided training for 115 people from April 2020 to March 2021, and managed to get 73 people employed, out of the 91 that had completed the training. Amongst the 73 employed, 55 of them remained employed for more than three months, showing the success of the programme.

The first story covers the journey of Jiefan, an 18 years old who had dropped out of school a few years prior and was on probation due to violating the law. He went through 20 interviews in two months, yet was not hired due to his probation and surveillance sentence. After a recommendation from his social worker, Jiefan received training at the social enterprise Bettr Barista, where he not only learned how to brew coffee, but also to control his emotions and improve his communication skills.

The second story talks about the experience of Jerry Tan, 23 years old, who had suffered from a stroke four years ago back in his second year in Singapore Polytechnic. While he survived, the left side of his body was left stiff and weak, and his left arm still remains unresponsive up till today. In addition, with the vision in both of his eyes also affected, Jerry was disadvantaged physically. He underwent a one-month training course in Dignity Kitchen to complete a series of Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ), following which he worked in a Japanese restaurant for about a year, before returning to Dignity Kitchen to serve as a cashier due to Covid-19. Jerry is now currently helping to train other colleagues with physical disabilities while he considers his future education and career.

The article also featured a quote from Joyce Teo, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of CFS, explaining how the disadvantaged people also needed some training to adapt to the workplace environment, as most of them had never gotten a chance to enter a formal workplace in society. She also spoke about how she hoped that the public could actively support and donate to the LIFT fund to help subsidise the training fees for the socially disadvantaged population, which could cost $5,000 per individual on average.

If you would like to support someone in their journey towards sustained employment opportunities, please visit our donation drive on Giving.sg here.

This translated article was originally published by Lianhe Zaobao 

Credit: Lianhe Zaobao © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.  

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News

Lianhe Zaobao: CFS has helped donors set up more than 80 funds in the past 8 years

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胡洁梅 14 November 2016

从资助年长者活动的基金,到帮助工艺教育学院学生的“纳丹教 育提升基金”,新加坡社会基金会协助设立的基金从八年前的七个, 蓬勃发展至目前的80多个,支持各类公益项目。

年设立的慈善机构新加坡社会基金会(The Community Foundation of Singapore)旨在为善长仁翁提供咨询服务,协助他 们成立基金推展公益活动,并管理基金。捐款者须承诺至少20万元来 设立基金。

基金会总裁罗佩仪在回顾基金会的发展时指出,更多有经济能力 的个人和家庭希望能回馈社会,却没有时间和资源来设立基金会。“ 社会基金会希望为善长仁翁提供一站式咨询,协助他们管理基金,并确保良好且高素质的监管水平。”

她说,更多有经济能力的家庭推动慈善事业,把它当作教育下一 代社会责任的方式。近年就有更多家庭找上社会基金会,要求协助以 家人名义设立基金。

不过这类捐款者一般保持低调的捐款方式,谢绝受访。

罗佩仪受询时透露:“尽管经济增长放缓,基金会今年的捐款额 增长率仍持稳。受经济影响,加上去年SG50庆祝活动和优惠(捐款税 务回扣300%),去年收到的捐款额其实比较多,不过基金会今年也 迎来新的捐款者,因为他们明白在当前的经济情况下,更需要帮助有 需者,因此整体的捐款情况仍不错。”

至今,社会基金会已协助设立80多个基金,发放4200万元,支持 不同慈善项目,合作的慈善团体有超过400个。

基金会根据捐款者想支持的公益项目类别,协助成立基金,让相 关志愿组织机构利用。虽然多数捐款者支持的项目普遍针对年长者、 体障、教育事业等,但已逐渐以较新颖的方式推行,不局限于颁发奖 学金和助学金。

退休商人伯德(William Bird)与妻子设立的基金资助一些机构 为年长者举办郊游活动等,过去六年已有50多个乐龄护理中心获益。

SymAsia是另一个协助捐献者以个人或公司名义设立基金、并在 本地注册的基金会,由瑞士信贷(Credit Suisse)管理。这也是亚太 区唯一由银行经营的捐献者指示基金会(Donor Advised Fund)。捐 献者须承诺至少100万元设立基金。

瑞信亚太区家族办公室服务兼慈善顾问董事洪智聪指出,自2010 年设立以来,SymAsia基金会截至去年10月已有约8000万元捐款支持 亚太区的300多个慈善机构。SymAsia旨在支持人道和社会发展项目、 自然保护、教育、文化等方面的公益事业。

Read more.

Translation:

From helping the elderly to the S R Nathan Education Upliftment Fund, CFS has grown from seven to 80 funds in eight years, supporting a wide range of causes.

CFS provides philanthropy advisory services to donors who pledge $200,000 to set up a fund.

Said CFS CEO Catherine Loh, “More wealthy individuals or families want to give back but lack the time and resources to set up their own foundations. CFS offers one-stop philanthropic services for these donors, helping to manage the funds and ensuring that all grants are made with high levels of governance and accountability.”

“More families have started charitable giving as they see family philanthropy as a way to bring multi generations closer together and instil a sense of social responsibility in the younger generation. In recent years, an increasing number of families have approached CFS to set up family or legacy funds.”

Many of these donors wish to remain private and declined to be interviewed.

Ms Loh continues, “With slowing economic growth, as well as donors having given a higher than normal amount last year due to SG50 celebrations and incentives (300% tax deductions), we do find that donation amounts are lower this year. However, we also have new donors who understand the urgency to provide more financial support to the needy despite the economy slowdown. As a result, overall donation growth is constant this year.”

Up till today, CFS has raised $80 million in donations, disbursed $42 million in grants in partnerships with over 400 charities.

CFS helps donors set up funds, then bridge donors to support their desired charitable causes. While most donors still gravitate towards the usual causes such as education, health, elderly and the disabled, they are open to supporting these causes in new ways.

Mr and Mrs William Bird’s fund has benefited seniors from over 50 eldercare centres.

SymAsia is another organisation that helps individual donors or companies set up funds, managed by Credit Suisse. It is Asia’s first bank that manages donor advised funds, with a minimum donation of $1m to set up a fund.

SymAsia’s Deputy CEO Bernard Fung said, “Since 2010 till last October, SymAsia has raised $80m in donations to help 300 charitable organisations in Asia. SymAsia supports development and community programmes in environment, education, culture.”

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