PAP Community Foundation Pledges $7 Million Donation to vulnerable families and 50,000 Volunteer Opportunities for Staff

Inaugural PCF Charity Week 2024 reinforces its commitment to ‘Sparkle Lives’ in the community

Singapore, 26 July 2024 – PAP Community Foundation (PCF) today announced a significant $7 million donation over the next four years, aimed at strengthening community bonds and uplifting vulnerable families. This commitment will impact a total of up to 20,000 children from lower-income families annually, extending PCF’s current support to preschool children and seniors.

The announcement coincided with the launch of the inaugural PCF Charity Week 2024, to be held yearly for PCF staff keen to give back to the community. Guest-of-Honour Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister for Digital Development and Information, and Council Chairman for the PCF Council of Management said in her speech at the event that PCF had a longstanding commitment to do well and do good for the communities it serves (see) Annex). Other members of the PCF Charity Management Committee were also present. At the event, Mrs Teo and committee members engaged with seniors in an active aging programme called “Breakfast with Seniors by the Park”, which featured children performances and hands-on therapeutic activities such as a scent workshop.

Sparkling Lives Beyond the Classroom and Eldercare Centres

PCF’s deep understanding of families’ needs for both young and old is reflected in their comprehensive support initiatives.

Through the creation of 50,000 volunteering opportunities for staff, seniors and families will be better supported through meaningful interactions and activities. This will be done through forging strategic partnerships with community stakeholders like Grassroot Organisations, Social Service and Government agencies like National Environment Agency and Agency for Integrated Care.

For the second half of 2024, PCF will also be increasing touchpoints1 with seniors through new partnerships and increased activities for PCF Sparkle Care seniors to create more volunteering spaces, enhance social engagement and promote active aging. This year will see PCF collaborating with SG Cares, Fei Yue and Touch Community Services to organise handicraft work and outings.

PCF understands the crucial role financial security plays in a child’s development. The $7 million of fresh donations committed by PCF will go towards deepening existing PCF-led initiatives to uplift underprivileged families: These are:

PCF’s Headstart Fund (HSF): PCF will sponsor learning journeys, visits to attractions, workshops, and parent-child bonding sessions for 5,800 children from 95 centres with high enrolment of low-income households.

Expansion of PCF’s Spark Dreams Programme: PCF will contribute a one-time Child Development Account (CDA) top-up of $150 to IF and N2 students from the programme. The scheme has also been expanded to support the bottom 20% of households (children from households with income of less than $6,000), who will receive a $100 CDA top-up, with an expected 5,000 children benefitting from the initiative.

PCF’s Sparkle Gift of Love: PCF will curate an experiential shopping experience with educational items such as books, bags, stationery and more for about 6,000 children from low-income families. During the “shopping experience”, children will be taught how to make immediate decisions on the items they need and want. The initiative will also involve community contributions from fellow parents and partners.

School Readiness Pack: 3,000 eligible K2 students will be given books and shoes worth $50 to ensure they have the items they need to enter Primary school with confidence.

In addition, PCF will set aside $120,000 to assist charities in Singapore that are actively supporting seniors, children or underprivileged members of the community. Out of the $120,000 Food from The Heart, KidSTART Singapore Limited and Lions Home for the Elders will each be receiving $20,000 in financial support as part of the PCF Charity Week 2024. The remainder will be donated to other Social Service Agencies.

PCF Charity Week 2024: Building a Stronger, More Inclusive Singapore

The first-of-its-kind PCF Charity Event took place from 22 – 26 July 2024 to reinforce and strengthen PCF’s commitment to supporting those in need. It saw a total of 2,000 volunteers, contributing 4,000 hours of dedicated service across 6 key events and initiatives across the week. All the events and initiatives are curated to benefit students at PCF Sparkletots, seniors at Sparkle Care, as well as communities supported by Social Service Agency (SSA) partners. This week-long event complements PCF’s regular community events throughout the year with its 8,000 employees.

The event line-up included activities and visits to all PCF Sparkle Care and Active Ageing Centres, with a food-making workshop organised at the National Museum of Singapore to foster intergenerational bonding. PCF also launched an advocacy and awareness campaign at all PCF centres to emphasise the importance of doing good. Three food packing sessions and door-to-door food pack distribution activities were conducted with Food from the Heart for needy families.

“Our responsibility for the thousands of children and seniors entrusted to our care goes beyond our centres – we aim to create a stronger and more inclusive Singapore by strengthening bonds within our community and creating financial resilience for families in need,” said Victor Bay, CEO of PCF. “Through such initiatives, we at PCF will be able to do good for even more communities in need. We are grateful for the community’s support and look forward to developing more opportunities and initiatives to ‘Sparkle Lives’.”END

For further enquiries, please contact:

Jamie Soh
Jamie.soh@redhill.asia
+65 9435 1128

Nikita Rao
Nikita.rao@redhill.asia
+65 8342 8734

About PAP Community Foundation

PAP Community Foundation (PCF), a charitable foundation founded by the People’s Action Party (PAP) in 1986, runs social, educational and welfare programmes and activities for the community. PCF is committed to nurturing a multi-racial, fair, just and inclusive society by providing educational, welfare and community services island-wide. PCF is also recognised as a Great Place to Work® and a Great Place to Learn™ by the Great Place to Work Institute. In 2021, it clinched first place in Asia’s Best Workplaces™ in the category of ‘Large’ workplaces. It provides preschool services through PCF Sparkletots, which is the largest preschool operator in Singapore with 355 preschools and an enrolment of over 40,000 children. It also operates senior care centres through PCF Sparkle Care.

About PCF Charity Management Committee

The Charity Management Committee is the decision-making body of the Charity Division of the Foundation. The committee is headed by Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister for Digital Development and Information, and Second Minister for Home Affairs. Other members of the committee are Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Treasurer), Ms Indranee Thurai Rajah, Mr Heng Chee How, Ms Sim Ann, Dr Amy Khor, Ms Low Yen Ling, Ms Rahayu Mahzam and Ms Ng Ling Ling. The Committee is responsible to the Council of Management for managing the charitable activities of and on behalf of the Foundation.