Lam Soon, a leading homegrown fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company and owner of household names including Knife, Naturel, UFC, bio-home, and NooTrees, announced on Wednesday (14 Oct) that it will commit S$7 million in donations to Community Chest, Edible Garden City (EGC), and other beneficiaries over 2020 to 2021.
In celebrating 70 fruitful years of innovation and growth, this donation aims to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the vulnerable in Singapore’s population, especially the youth and elderly, while encouraging sustainability and wellness by supporting the activities of urban farming.
Helping social service agencies continue operations in light of COVID-19
According to a survey conducted by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), the percentage of Singaporeans willing to donate to charities fell nearly a third, from 32 per cent to 23 per cent between April and July this year.
Through partnering with Community Chest, Lam Soon will donate an initial amount of S$3.5 million to various social service agencies that champion the needs of children and youths, as well as the elderly and ageing population.
Lam Soon seeks to ensure that these social service agencies are able to continue their operations in light of corporate and public donations falling during the pandemic.
Social service agencies that will benefit from the donation include the Asian Women’s Welfare Association Ltd, which nurtures children with special needs to reach their fullest potential; Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) which helps persons with intellectual disabilities lead independent lives; Singapore Anglican Community Services which supports persons with mental health conditions; and many more.
“During this period of crisis, when organisations are scaling back budgets and facing challenges in accessing resources, it is more important than ever that social service agencies are supported to continue their service delivery to support the vulnerable groups within our community,” said Phillip Tan, Chairman of Community Chest.
“We are thankful to receive such invaluable support from Lam Soon to uplift the lives of those in need and enable them to emerge stronger through this COVID-19 situation,” he added.
Promoting sustainability through urban farming
Besides the donation to Community Chest, Lam Soon will collaborate with Edible Garden City (EGC), a champion of garden builds that designs, builds, and maintains food gardens in Singapore.
Having completed about 240 food gardens in Singapore in the last seven years, EGC hopes to help Singapore secure its food supply chain through urban farming projects. In turn, through this long-term collaboration, Lam Soon aims to instill the concept of sustainability in the young, and empower the elderly by improving their holistic wellness.
Projects as part of Lam Soon’s partnership with EGC include developing therapeutic horticulture gardens for APEX Harmony Lodge, and uplifting and renewing MINDS’ greenhouse spaces to be more suitable for its beneficiaries.
“Lam Soon partnering with us to support various garden build projects will bring long-term benefits to our community and environment,” said Samuell Ang, CEO of Edible Garden City.
“Participating in these garden building activities will contribute to our youth’s personal development, and prepare the social environment for the ageing population and members of the community from all walks of life,” he added.
“Over the past 70 years, Lam Soon has been involved in various community programmes. This year, in conjunction with our 70th anniversary, and especially in line with the economic and social ramifications of COVID 19, we are furthering our support for the common good as much as we can,” said Whang Shang Ying, Executive Chairman of Lam Soon.
“We hope that our efforts will further amplify the importance of social service agencies during this time and contribute to the wellbeing of our youth and elderly communities,” he added.