Singapore’s community of new citizens and immigrants and various organisations have quickly and generously stepped forward to support programmes for vulnerable children and youth during this COVID-19 circuit breaker period.
Within the first two weeks of circuit breaker, organisations such as the Jiangsu Association and Sea Ltd have made donations to support the recent #Engage initiative by The RICE Company Ltd (TRCL) – which seeks to keep vulnerable students engaged through online arts and lifestyle programmes.
Set up in 2016 by new immigrants from China’s Jiangsu province, the Jiangsu Association (Singapore)‘s key focuses include that of contributing back to Singapore society, in addition to fostering closer ties between Jiangsu and Singapore through cultural, business, and education exchange programmes.
The Association has donated S$58,050 to the #Engage initiative.
“The Covid-19 virus has caused unprecedented difficulty and disruption to Singaporeans’ lives. Being part of the Singaporean community, the Jiangsu Association (Singapore) executive committee and association members have similarly been affected. Yet as an association of first-generation immigrants, the Jiangsu Association (Singapore) wishes to play an active role in supporting our new home,” said Dr Zhou Zhao Cheng, President of the Jiangsu Association.
“As giving back to society is one of our association’s four founding objects – we are hence delighted to have the opportunity to support The RICE Company Ltd’s #Engage initiative, and aid underprivileged children and youth with their meals, study materials, art subjects, and so on during these difficult times,” he added.
“Children are one of the most vulnerable groups in times of economic turbulence, and the RICE Company is doing vital work to ensure that vulnerable youths in our community continue to receive the support and opportunities they need to aid their development. We are honoured to support this initiative,” commented Martin Reidy, Director of Communications at Sea Limited.
Individuals from various sectors have also come forward to support the cause.
Singapore based pianist Sam Bedi, who is a Singapore Permanent Resident, presented a live stream performance from his own studio on Tuesday (21 April) to open the hearts of listeners to support #Engage through donating through Giving.sg.
To date, #Engage has raised over S$170,000 and donations are still on-going via Giving.sg.
“We are indeed grateful for the support shown for our mission of serving the needy, underprivileged and vulnerable during this time through arts and culture programmes. It is encouraging and heartwarming for us to see this support coming from all sectors of the community. We are glad to have been able to engage all sectors of the community through this initiative and hope that this support and engagement will continue past this COVID-19 circuit breaker period,” noted Tan Tee Tong, Chief Operating Officer at TRCL.
“We hope to support as many students as possible through this initiative, beyond that which we originally intended. Funds raised go towards not only the programmes but also providing meals and some necessities for the students,” he added.
