Chiam See Tong Sports Fund raises more than $120,000 through virtual dinner

The Chiam See Tong Sports Fund (CSTSF) has managed to raise more than $120,000 in aid of under-resourced athletes through its “LIVE FOR SPORTS” E-Gala Dinner held on 2 October.

Apart from Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong who was the event’s Guest of Honour, the CSTSF dinner also featured performances by artistes Jack and Rai, Leandra Lane and Mexico-based Singaporean band Iluminari.

The event was broadcast ‘LIVE’ on the CSTSF Facebook page.

“The challenge, if any, for the organizing team was to coordinate and create value for our donors, especially since we could not bring people together under one roof for an event. We are thankful for the support through Minister Edwin Tong, our supporting partners and all our donors,” said Mr Jose Raymond, Chairman of the Organising Committee and Director of the Board of the CSTSF.

“We will always aim to do better, and hopefully we will be able to thank everyone face to face at our next fundraising dinner. It is this multi-collaborative approach in sports which we hope will help develop many young athletes who will become Singapore champions in the future,” he added.

Mr Raymond was assisted by Mr Damon Yong (Director of the CSTSF Board) and Mr Douglas Danapal (the Chairman of the Fundraising Committee of the CSTSF and Commercial Director of the Singapore Rugby Union) for the fundraiser.

Added Mr Tong, who delivered a message and who also greeted the artistes prior to the start of the broadcast of the event, “There is an athlete in every one of us – and it is embodied in our spirit of determination to succeed, to be better than we thought we could be, to learn resilience from losing, and show grace when winning. We are committed to helping every Singaporean who desires to be an athlete, whether in casual sports or to walk the path with the champions amongst us. I would like to thank Mr Chiam See Tong and the Chiam See Tong Sports Fund for their unwavering support towards nurturing the sporting spirit in Singapore.”

Donors who made purchases for the dinner which cost either $500 or $1000 had a nine-course meal delivered to their homes, some directly from the Directors of the Board and the CSTSF ambassadors like national basketballer Ng Han Bin and Matthias Yap.

With the help of web solutions service provider RAWR Global, the CSTSF digitalized the donation process for the dinner by integrating a dinner page on the CSTSF website, which allowed all donors to purchase a package and make a payment electronically.

The CSTSF also received support for its fundraiser through online broadcaster 1 Play Sports which provided content and technical support for the live streaming of the “LIVE FOR SPORTS” E-Gala.

Since launching in March 2017, the CSTSF has assisted more than 30 athletes, including modern pentathlete Kok Kiat Xuan, national powerlifters Matthew Yap, Matthias Yap, sailor Olivia Chen, national floorball player Siti Nurhaliza and track and field athlete Marc Brian Louis, among others.

This is the third fundraising dinner organised by the CSTSF since launching in 2017. In 2017, world renowned rugby referee Nigel Owens was the Guest of Honour at the event, while former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong graced the fundraiser as the Guest of Honour in 2019.